Unexpected Distractions
by hideoutofahomebody
Summary: Emma Swan is working hard in college to achieve her goals and she doesn't want any distractions. Will Killian Jones prove to be a distraction? CS College AU. NOW COMPLETE.
1. So it begins

_A/N: This is my first fanfiction for any fandom ever. CS AUs give me life and I wanted to attempt writing one myself._

_I am not a native speaker, and this story hasn't been beta'ed by a native speaker, either. Feel free to point out any mistakes._

* * *

><p>It is a sunny day, which is a very welcome change from the storm that had been going on for the last two days. Most of the students are out on the quad, soaking up the sun they very much missed.<p>

Not Emma Swan though. Emma Swan is bent over books, as she always is, cramming for finals. Her goals are far too important, the bar she set for herself far too high for her to do anything else. She has her every step mapped out and she'll be damned if she lets an exam she was too lazy to study for keep her from achieving her goals.

She stays at the dorms on campus because she can't afford an apartment near campus, and she doesn't want to waste any precious time on commuting, which means she has to share a suite with another girl. She loves her roommate, she really does. But when she asks her repeatedly if she'd like to join her and seven other people out on the quad (seriously, how does she know so many people?), determined not to take no for an answer, she snaps at her. She regrets it afterwards, but she knows Ruby will understand.

Ruby Lucas is a very lively person, living through life with the energy of twelve toddlers. She is the epitome of model-like beauty with mile long legs, fair skin, dark hair, and green eyes. Ruby can wrap any guy around her little finger in under five minutes with minimum effort.

Emma envies her from time to time. Not that she is any less beautiful than Ruby is. In fact, Emma has a toned physique (courtesy of years of training), eyes of emerald green, a flawless complexion, and hair resembling a golden halo tumbling down her shoulders. What she envies is how free of inhibitions Ruby can be from time to time. Compared to Ruby, Emma is a much more reserved person. She learned it the hard way that letting your guard down is rarely a smart thing to do.

Ruby majors in Journalism and it's evident she'll be good at it. It's like she can smell a good story, which she has proved time and again in the two years she's been writing for the school journal. Emma's major is Law; she would like to help children in the foster care system after she graduates. She still remembers the seven kinds of hell the system has to offer and she's determined to make sure she keeps as many kids as possible from being its victim.

* * *

><p>Emma is almost done with her revisions when the door opens and a slightly anxious Ruby takes a peek inside the room reluctantly. (She did throw her out of the room a few hours ago, so it's understandable why Ruby is being cautious). Before she sets foot into the room, the brunette holds out a hand through the slightly ajar door, a hand that's holding takeout bags from Emma's favorite Chinese restaurant just outside campus. Emma smiles to herself, thankful to whatever deity that has decided to grace her with such an amazing friend.<p>

"You can come in Ruby, I won't try to bite your head off, I promise," Emma says, "Plus you brought takeout, and I'm starving, so you are pretty much my favorite person right now."

Finally stepping into the room, Ruby throws a crimson painted smirk her way and retorts, "I wasn't so sure you wouldn't have bit my head off this morning, but anyways, there's no need to kid ourselves, we both know I'm your favorite person any day of the week."

"Yeah, whatever," Emma says, even though she still has a smile on her face, "Just get your self-confident self, and more importantly the takeout bags, to the living room, I'll be there in a minute."

The suite they live in consists of two bedrooms, a living room with an adjoined kitchen (which they use on very rare occasions because, let's face it, despite having worked at a diner for years before quitting, Ruby is an awful cook and Emma has more important things to do than cooking) and a bathroom. They settle on the couch, which is in the middle of what they call their living room.

Emma pulls containers out of the takeout bags and looks through them. Ruby has brought egg rolls and Kung Pao Chicken, Emma's favorite. "Oh, you know me too well," the blonde says as she digs in without further ado.

Ruby grins and picks an egg roll from the container. "By the way, we are going out on Friday to celebrate the finals being over." Emma opens her mouth to object but Ruby beats her to it, "Before you try, you can't talk your way out of this one, you've been making me go out alone all semester."

Emma sighs as her shoulders slump in defeat, she knows better than to try to argue with Ruby once she's made her mind up about something.

"Fine, I'll go, but you are not allowed to dress me up or else I am not setting foot outside this suite," she retorts, she's been Ruby's friend long enough to have been a victim of her enthusiasm for making people over, multiple times.

"Oh, you are no fun," Ruby whines, mock pout in place.

"I am not letting you put me in one of your dresses, and this is final," Emma replies with as much determination as can muster, and she sees Ruby physically deflate in resignation.

"Well, lose some, win some," Emma thinks to herself as she stands up. She turns to her friend to say, "Thank you for the food, I'll buy next time," which she answers with her best why-are-you-even-mentioning-this look. Emma snorts before continuing, "I have to go finish my revisions. You better do some as well, seriously Red, I don't know how you manage to pass with all that partying you do."

Ruby smiles at the nickname; it originated from the red streaks she had in her hair (and probably from her vibrant personality) and just stuck even after she dyed them brown.

"It's because I am very intelligent, in fact, I border on genius so I don't have to study as much. It just comes naturally to me," Ruby teases; there's no way she's going to admit she stays up late studying for hours after Emma has gone to bed.

* * *

><p>Finals come and go; it is a very trying week for everyone involved. Emma lives through the week in a caffeine induced energy and, much to Ruby's misfortune, crankiness. So when Friday evening comes, all Emma wants to do is lounge on the couch in her sweatpants and marathon the third season of Fringe for the umpteenth time, (She thinks it's the best season of one of the best sci-fi shows ever) but Ruby fixes her with a stare that says "Don't you even dare" loud and clear.<p>

"Fine, I'll go but you can't make me have fun," Emma retorts.

"Trust me, I know by now that no one can make you do anything you don't want to," Ruby says and then she adds in a singsong voice, "But I'm sure there'll be plenty of hot guys there!"

Emma sighs, "Ruby you know I don't have time for that sort of thing in my life."

All playfulness leaves Ruby's voice as she replies, "Emma I'm not telling you to jump into a serious relationship right away but you've got to give yourself a break every now and then. Flirt with a cute guy, break some hearts."

Emma can't help but snort at her friend's words, "You must have mistaken me for yourself Ruby, you know I'm not capable of wrapping guys around my finger as you do."

Ruby outright laughs at that, "Emma, have you not looked at the mirror in the last decade? You are more than capable of doing that and a lot more. Now quit stalling and get ready!"

With that, they both retire to their respective rooms to get dressed. As she made clear before, Emma has no intentions of wearing a dress. Instead, she puts on her black skinny jeans with rips on its knees, a grey V neck t-shirt, (which she knows will please Ruby, since it gives way to a decent amount of cleavage) and lastly her pair of black four inch heeled Chelsea boots, which leave the closet on special occasions only. The entire process takes only ten minutes, since Emma decides to let her hair fall in its natural curves.

She knocks on Ruby's door and the next thirty minutes are spent with Ruby insisting she does Emma's makeup (She ends up with a lot more makeup than she usually goes for). When she looks at the mirror, she has to admit that Ruby did a splendid job with the best smoky eye makeup ever and the perfect amount of dark red lipstick. Once they are both dolled up enough to satisfy Ruby, they make their way out. Ruby is amused to see that Emma has grabbed her black leather jacket from the coat rack by the door and she can't help but tease her about it, "I see you've brought your armor."

"Oh, shut up," Emma says, but there is no venom behind it.

* * *

><p>Despite Emma's relentless inquiries about where they're headed, Ruby refuses to tell her. (Where's the fun in that, she says). After a five minute walk they find themselves in front of a hip looking bar named Rabbit Hole. "Really?!" Emma says.<p>

Ruby just shakes her head and retorts, "Quit being cynical and follow me to Wonderland."

"Red, we both know you are nothing like the white rabbit, in fact, you are the big bad wolf on your best day." This makes Ruby laugh.

As expected, they make their way into the bar without any trouble, apparently Ruby knows the bouncer. (Why is she not surprised?) The bar is full of students, (She and Ruby are not the only people in need of a good drink and some fun after the finals) Emma even recognizes some of the faces from the classes she takes. To her surprise, the bar is playing good music, which is a very welcome change from all the top 40 playing clubs Ruby has dragged her to in the past.

"I need a drink before I can even begin to tolerate any of these people tonight," Emma says to Ruby before she heads straight to the bar.

Getting to the bar proves to be a challenge since most of the people are well on their way to being drunk of their asses and Emma has to even forcefully push a few out of her way. When she finally reaches the bar, she settles on one of the stools and asks the bartender for a beer.

Not long after she's taken her first sip, a body collides into her, making her spill half of her beer. She turns around, anger boiling in her veins, ready to vent about how no one watches where they are going in this fucking place and they should not be drinking if they can't handle it, but the words die in her throat as the man, who almost threw her off her stool, looks at her apologetically and says, "My apologies, love, I lost my balance for a second there. Allow me to buy you another one."

Even in her angry state, Emma can't help but admit the guy in front of her is extremely handsome with broad shoulders, dark hair, well-kempt stubble and blue eyes glazed slightly with alcohol. To top it off, he has a British accent. Not that Emma has a thing for guys with accents, she most definitely does not, but even she has to admit the accent adds to the mystery guy's charm.

The guy's apologetic look gives way to a smirk when he notes Emma's reflective state and blatant staring. "Like what you see, love," he drawls.

Emma huffs indignantly, "In your dreams," she retorts. Of course a guy as good looking as this one is an arrogant asshole. "To answer your offer, no, I don't need you to buy me another drink. I just need you to go to the other side of the bar where I can't see your face and let me drink here in peace," Emma says.

He bows down very low and replies before turning around to leave, "If the lady insists."

She scoffs and downs the rest of her beer and asks for another one. When she reaches into her purse to pay for it, the bartender cuts her off, "This one's already paid for."

Emma looks at him quizzically, "Paid for? By whom?"

The bartender points to the other side of the bar, where the guy from before raises his glass to her in salute. "By that guy over there, his name is Killian. Killian Jones."

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><p><em>You could make me very happy by leaving a review, just saying..<em>

_You can find me on tumblr under hideoutofahomebody _


	2. Printed Tops & Unforeseen Complications

_**A/N:**__ So, here's the second chapter. I hope you like it. _  
><em>Admittedly, this chapter was done long before I even published the first one. But I was hoping I'd get a bit more feedback before publishing it. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.<em>  
><em>Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited andor reviewed. You've made me happy!_  
><em>You can check the end of the story for more notes. <em>  
><em>So, without further ado, let's get on with the story!<em>

* * *

><p><strong><span><em>Previously on Unexpected Distractions:<em>**

_"__This one's already paid for." _

_Emma looks at him quizzically, "Paid for? By whom?" _

_The bartender points to the other side of the bar, where the guy from before raises his glass to her in salute. "By that guy over there, his name is Killian. Killian Jones."_

* * *

><p>While Emma slowly sips at her second beer of the night (Technically one and a half, since that Jones guy made her spill the first one, what a douche), Ruby appears at her side with an inexplicably delighted expression and a wolfish grin on her face.<p>

"Emma, did I just see you talking to Killian Jones? THE Killian Jones? As in Captain of the swim team, hottest guy on campus, oozing bad boy vibes with leather jacket and combat boots Killian Jones?" she manages to get out between her squeals of glee.

"Technically, I wasn't talking to him. I was only explaining him in detail where he could shove the drink he offered to buy me," Emma deadpans, less than amused with the conversation they are having.

"He offered to buy you a drink?!" Ruby practically shouts with poorly contained excitement.

"Yeah, after he basically ran me over and made me spill my drink all over myself," Emma retorts. "Seriously Ruby, just because he's good looking, it doesn't mean he gets to be a prick."

"He can pour a drink all over me anytime he likes," Ruby sighs dreamily, but then she sobers up and grins at Emma smugly, "Wait a second, so you _do_ think he is good looking!"

"Well, Red, I am a 21 year old woman with a pulse, of course I think he is good looking," Emma admits, "But his good looks don't deceive me, I can see the arrogant jerk underneath the façade clear as day."

"Whatever you say, Ems," Ruby smiles at her knowingly, which infuriates Emma because there is nothing to know.

They spend rest of the night drinking, dancing and joking around (The topic of Killian Jones decidedly doesn't come up again), and by the time they are walking back to the dorms, despite the unpleasant start to the evening, Emma is glad she went out tonight.

* * *

><p>Emma wakes up in the morning with a roaring headache and an awful taste in her mouth, and she's not so sure anymore if she's still glad to have gone out last night. She quickly pours herself a glass of water and takes two Advils in hopes that it'll help with the headache.<p>

Luckily, the headache shrinks into a dull pain in the back of her head after half an hour and she decides that what she needs is decent coffee and chocolate chip pancakes. She throws on a pair of black leggings and a burgundy hoodie that reads "the only one who saves me is me" (it's one of those hipster-y things she saw everyone wear and she'd always internally mocked them but this was a Christmas gift from Ruby and she'd actually teared up at how well her friend knew her when she first read what it said) and goes to check on Ruby before she leaves.

When asked if she'd like to come with, all Ruby manages to get out is a disgruntled sound, which Emma interprets as a no. So she leaves a glass of water and two tablets of Advil by her bedside for when she wakes up and quietly leaves the house.

She decidedly makes her way to Granny's, which is a diner just outside campus with the best chocolate chip pancakes in the entire city. She's been coming to this diner regularly for the last two years. Everyone calls the owner Granny and she has a close relationship with all of the regulars, including Emma. She settles in one of the stools at the counter and the old woman behind it smiles knowingly.

"The usual, I presume," says the woman.

"Oh, I'll trade hot chocolate for coffee this time, if you don't mind. I have one hell of a hangover." Emma manages to smile at the older woman. The woman returns her smile, though hers is more of the maternal sort and it tugs at something in Emma's heart.

"Chocolate chip pancakes and black coffee, coming right up," she announces and moves towards the kitchen.

As always, Granny is quick with her order and even the smell of coffee does wonders in relieving her of her hangover. She takes a huge sip from the steaming hot coffee and doesn't even flinch; she's been drinking boiling hot coffee for years so she doesn't feel the burn anymore. Feeling better than she's had all morning, she starts to happily munch on her pancakes when someone takes the seat to her left on the counter.

"Morning, Duckie," says a male voice from next to her and she doesn't have to turn her head to know exactly who it is. She rolls her eyes at the nickname. Apparently calling her Swan wasn't creative enough for Graham.

She slaps his hand away when he attempts to steal one of the blueberries Granny always adds to her plate whenever she orders pancakes and he chuckles. Finally, she turns to face the man sitting next to her.

Graham Humbert is an old friend of Ruby's (He's practically family, Ruby had said when she'd first introduced him to her in freshman year), he is also one of the few people Emma considers her friend. He is tall, fit, and handsome in a boyish way with chestnut curls and brown doe eyes. He is wearing a white t-shirt, dark jeans and, of course, his trademark brown leather jacket. His hair is in a disarray, which no longer throws Emma off; apparently combing it every once in a while is too much effort for Graham.

"Good morning to you, too, Humbert," Emma replies with a smile playing in the corner of her lips. She hadn't seen him since before the finals and right now she realizes she's missed him.

He motions for a cup of coffee and one of the waitresses complies, all the while fluttering her eyelashes at Graham. Emma is used to it by now, wherever they go, Graham is always popular with the ladies.

Graham seems to be oblivious to the waitress's attempts at capturing his attention; instead he takes a look at what she's having and remarks while smiling knowingly, "Nursing a hangover, I presume?"

Emma snorts at that, "Like you wouldn't believe. Ruby made me go out with her last night, and you know how she can be."

"Trust me when I say that I do. I was a victim to her unstoppable partying long before you ever were," Graham says, sympathy mixing with amusement in his eyes and they both laugh over their respective cups of coffee.

This playfulness comes easy to them, though what they have is entirely platonic. In freshman year, they looked down that road and said no, thank you, after sharing a kiss one drunken night. After sobering up, they both agreed what they had as friends was enough and Emma cherished every moment of being his friend ever since.

"So how was the night," Graham inquires, "Other than the hangover it seems to have left in its wake? Have you met any cute guys?" He waggles his eyebrows at Emma and she fights the snort trying to escape her throat.

Instead, she huffs before replying in a sarcastic tone, "Oh come on, you too?! You know I'm above all of the brainless dirtbags that go to this school."

"I'll try my best to not feel insulted, Duckie, although I am pretty sure someday you'll meet someone and then you'll have to watch what you're saying."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Humbert," Emma replies disbelievingly, and after a moment she adds, "Can we talk about something else? Like, how are swim practices coming along?"

Emma sees Graham's face light up, as it always does when something he is passionate about comes up. (He joined the swim team in freshman year and proved to be a very valuable asset to the team by winning a golden medal in the first tournament he attended.)

"Oh, it's great Ems; we have a tournament coming up next month. You girls will be there to cheer for me, won't you?"

The boyish excitement she can see in his face warms her heart. "We wouldn't miss it for the world, Graham," she answers, smiling in earnest.

* * *

><p>A month passes by very quickly and soon enough, Emma and Ruby are trying to find decent seats at the stands to watch Graham kick ass. Ruby even made t-shirts for them that read "Team Graham" (Seriously, what is it with Ruby and printed tops?) and Emma begrudgingly put hers on, only because she knew it would make Graham happy.<p>

As they settle in their seats, the swim teams come out of the locker rooms, take their shirts off, and start stretching by the pool. Emma is quick to spot Graham. She waves at him when his eyes fall on them and he gives them a huge grin. He points to their shirts and gives them a thumbs up, to which Emma replies with a shrug of her shoulders and a look that says "I had no say in the matter."

Graham then turns away to stretch and warm up so that he doesn't pull a muscle in the pool. In that moment Ruby, who was suspiciously quiet the whole time, nudges Emma with her elbow and silently points at a spot with a smirk plastered on her face. Emma follows Ruby's line of sight to where she is pointing at and her eyes fall on none other than Killian Jones. The blonde huffs in irritation.

"I forgot he was part of the swim team," she says.

Ruby waggles her perfectly manicured eyebrows at her and retorts, "I am sure you did."

Emma, in fact, hadn't thought much of the infuriatingly arrogant and good looking guy, now standing thirty feet away from her. It doesn't mean she can't appreciate the sight in front of her as Killian Jones takes his shirt off, displaying a dusting of chest hair, a toned torso and magnificent abs.

"You are drooling," Ruby teases her and Emma snaps out of the trance she seems to have fallen under.

"Am not," she says indignantly.

"Are too," Ruby presses with a smug smirk on her face.

"Oh, come on. What is this, the third grade?" Emma retorts, not liking it in the slightest that she was caught staring, even if it's by her best friend.

"It's okay, I'd be worried if you weren't ogling him," Ruby comments, smirk still in place. "I, however, have my eyes set on another guy," she adds.

"Oh, pray tell, who is the poor soul?" Emma asks jokingly.

Not fazed by Emma's sarcastic tone in the slightest, Ruby points at another guy not far from where they are. "His name is August; he's in my American History class."

Emma studies the guy intently. He, too, has a swimmer's body, which is always a plus. Other than that, he has dark hair, a stubble and kind looking blue eyes. Emma concludes that he seems like a nice guy. She watches as August jokes with Killian and they both throw their heads back in a roaring laughter. She can't help but notice that they both have equally dizzying smiles.

She turns to Ruby and says, "Fine, you have my permission to like him."

Ruby wraps her arms around Emma and giggles like a school girl and Emma can't help but join in with her excitement, completely unaware of the blue eyes staring at her with a somewhat awestruck expression from across the pool.

* * *

><p>August, however notices Killian staring into distance and following his line of sight, discovers what's captured his attention.<p>

"The blonde or the brunette," he asks after getting up into Killian's personal space which almost makes Killian jump out of his skin.

"Jesus Christ, August, I've told you a thousand times not to do that," he says exasperatedly.

Not fazed by Killian's obvious exasperation, August repeats his question, "Which one were you daydreaming about, the blonde or the brunette?"

"The blonde, if you must know," Killian replies gruffly. "Although I must say I do not daydream. I've met her a month or so ago at the Rabbit Hole. She's a feisty one."

"Oh, good, because I've kind of had my eyes on the brunette for some time, I wouldn't want to have to challenge you to a duel." August says with a mock-serious expression.

"Of course you wouldn't," Killian retorts with a smirk, "Because you know you'd get your arse handed to you."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, buddy," August says, "I will, however, further inquire you about the blonde after this thing is over, have no doubts."

However, the team wins the tournament and the inquiry August has promised Killian is forgotten when the heady feeling of victory clouds every other thought they've had.

* * *

><p>"Did you guys see how great I was in that final lapse," Graham beams at Ruby and Emma. He was, in fact, pretty great, playing a huge role in the team's victory.<p>

After being congratulated and assured by both girls about how great he really was, Graham asks with a boyish grin on his face, "Listen, a bunch of us are going to this celebratory thing at one of the guys' apartment. It won't be a huge party, just a gathering to drink some beer and get wasted. Wanna come?"

Emma is reluctant to accept but Ruby insists that they should go. (She is probably hoping August will be there).

"Fine, we'll go," Emma says, once again not being able to say no to her best friend.

"You're the best, Emma. I promise I'll buy you pancakes for a week!" Ruby says with excited giggles bubbling out of her throat.

It's interesting to see Ruby get all excited about a guy; usually they fall at her feet before Ruby even decides she likes them enough. "I wonder what is so different about this one," Emma muses to herself. She expects she'll find out soon enough.

* * *

><p>They make their way over to the party in Graham's pickup truck. As they enter the apartment, two sets of eyes fix on them with various levels of excitement. Unaware of said eyes, Emma looks around the apartment and sees a familiar leather jacket hung at the coat rack by the door. Not wanting to believe this could be happening, she desperately looks around, trying to identify the owner of the leather jacket, hoping it belongs to anyone but who she thinks it belongs to. But then she hears someone shout that one sentence that takes away all of her hopes.<p>

"Excellent choice of beer, Captain!"

So she leans over to Graham to hiss in his ear, "Why didn't you tell me the party was at Killian Jones' place?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ Oh, Emma, you walked right into this one…_

_I couldn't help but throw in a little the Flash reference in there, only because I love Felicity. Leave a review to let me now if you catch on to it!_

_Lastly, I know swimmers shave their chests to reduce the resistance in the water or whatever, but I couldn't sacrifice all that glorious chest hair, I'm sure you understand ;)_


	3. Changing Tides

**A/N:** Some CS interactions in this chapter.

Thanks for being the absolute cutie pies that you are and reading/reviewing/following/favoriting.

Also, I want to clear the timeline. In the first chapter, there were finals, and then there was the one month till the tournament, which was basically their winter break. So, they're at the beginning of the second semester now.

Check the end of this chapter for more notes.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Previously on Unexpected Distractions:<em>**

_"Listen, a bunch of us are going to this celebratory thing at one of the guys' apartment. It won't be a huge party, just a gathering to drink some beer and get wasted. Wanna come?"_

_[…]_

_"__Why didn't you tell me the party was at Killian Jones' place?"_

* * *

><p>"I had no idea you even knew him, Emma," Graham replies, concern evident on his face. "Has he done something to upset you? We can leave if you want."<p>

Emma thinks Graham's suggestion through for a minute, but decides against it when she remembers the only reason she came in the first place was because of how much Ruby wanted to be here and she doesn't want to ruin this for her. Looking around, she notes Ruby is already deep in conversation with some people and this finalizes her decision.

"It's okay Graham, we can stay, I met him briefly at the night we went out with Ruby after finals and let's just say he didn't make the best first impression." Emma explains.

"I bet he didn't. Killian's got a reputation, Emma," Graham says and Emma scoffs at that, "You should be careful around him."

"I appreciate the brotherly concern, Humbert, but there's no need to warn me, since I don't plan to interact with him ever again," Emma says in a confident manner.

"If you say so, Duckie. I'll go get us something to drink. Will you be okay by yourself for a minute?"

After being assured by Emma that she can handle herself just fine, Graham leaves her side to get them beers. (She grew up in foster care, for Christ sake; of course she can handle a few tipsy college boys). As if on cue, someone appears behind her.

"How generous it is of you to grace us with your presence, love. Alas, I don't think we've been properly introduced," comes the familiar lilting voice from behind her. It catches her off guard and the hair on her neck stand on end.

She schools her features into one of indifference before turning around. "I am not your love, Jones," she begins to say, but he cuts her off.

"Ah, so you've heard of me," he drawls, looking entirely too pleased with himself and Emma wants nothing more than to just wipe that infuriating smirk off his face.

"I've also heard of Kanye, but that doesn't mean I don't think he is an arrogant prick," Emma bites out.

"You are a feisty lass," Killian says, "Let me get you a drink, I promise I won't spill it all over you this time," he then raises an eyebrow in a salacious manner before adding, "Unless, of course that's what you're into."

Emma rolls her eyes at his blatant come on. (The guy is a player straight out of a textbook; Emma has met a dozen guys just like him). Just then, a man she recognizes to be August appears at Killian's side and speaks to him in a playful manner.

"I hope you are behaving yourself Killian," which Killian answers with a smirk that says, "What do you think?" and August snorts. He then holds out his hand and addresses Emma, "I don't believe we have met, my name is August Booth. I have the misfortune of sharing this apartment with this guy. As you have already realized, I'm guessing, he can be a pain in the ass." Emma shakes the hand he's holding out and instantly decides that she likes August.

"Pleasure to meet you, August, I'm Emma," she says, all the while focusing her attention solely on August and decidedly ignoring Killian, who is less than pleased that his best friend is bonding with the feisty blonde at his expense. His friend is either unaware of Killian's discomfort, or he is enjoying this far too much to care. (When he thinks about it, it's probably the latter).

"So, Emma, I didn't know you knew anyone from the swim team. It's a shame we haven't met before! Do tell me, who did you come with?"

Even though Killian knows that August has his sights set on the brunette friend of Emma's and is probably just fishing for an introduction, he can't help but have an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach at his friend's familiar attitude towards this woman he's just met. A woman he'd met first, mind you.

Emma unzips her hoodie without saying a word, showing them her "Team Graham" t-shirt. This makes August chuckle and Killian can't help but snort.

"As you can tell now, Graham invited me. Us, actually. I came with him and my roommate, Ruby, the t-shirt was her idea," Emma explains. She looks to where Ruby was a moment ago and immediately makes eye contact. Upon the questioning look in Ruby's eyes, she subtly motions for her to come over. "Actually, you know what, why don't I introduce you guys," she says to August, as if it has just occurred to her.

Killian, who had been awfully quiet through the entire exchange can't stop the retort from spilling from his lips, "Plotting for our double date already, I see. I have to give you points for subtlety, love, though I know every trick in the book already."

"Whatever gave you the impression that I would go on a date with you, let alone willingly be in the same space as you are, Jones?" she says sardonically.

He tilts his head to the side for a moment, silently scrutinizing her. Then his lips turn upwards in a smirk. (They had established before that the smirk was infuriating, now Emma can't help but notice it's also sexy). "I don't know, love, perhaps the fact that you are standing in the middle of my living room at this very moment?" he says patronizingly.

"I didn't… I wouldn't have… I…" Emma stutters, fidgeting under his unfaltering stare. "Ugh, whatever, Jones," she finally bites out in exasperation.

"There's no need to get antsy, love, you're welcome in this apartment any time you like," he says and then he _winks_ at her.

When someone pointedly clears their throat, Emma realizes that Ruby, August and even Graham have been watching their interaction with various degrees of curiosity and amusement on their faces. Graham passes her a beer and she thanks him under her breath, still feeling a little flustered.

Graham, as observant as ever, notices her discomfort and attempts to disperse the tension through introductions.

"Guys, I see you've met Duckie. This is her roommate and one of my oldest friends, Ruby."

Ruby shakes both of their hands with her killer smile in place and Emma feels blood rush to her face to form what she knows will be an impressive flush because _did Graham seriously just call her Duckie._

When no one remarks on it for a while, she thinks she might be off the hook, but her hopes are crushed when a moment later August turns to her with a mischievous expression on his face.

"So… Duckie, huh?"

Emma groans and hides her face in her hands. "My last name is Swan, so Humbert over there thought he was being clever when he came up with the nickname." She shoots a withering glare at Graham but he just smirks at her. "Anyways, he is the only one who calls me Duckie. And I'd like it to remain that way," Emma says, her tone laced with threat and pleading at the same time.

August bows his head as if to say "Whatever you want," but she has a feeling this will come up again.

* * *

><p>A moment later, Emma excuses herself to the bathroom. (Down the corridor, second door to your right, Killian says). It's not so much that she needs to use the bathroom, per se; she just needs to get away and hopefully get the flush on her face under control. It doesn't really make sense, she's just met these people, she shouldn't care what they think, but, oddly, she does.<p>

Emma opens the door Killian said leads to the bathroom. She is surprised to see that it actually _is_ the bathroom, half expecting him to have given directions to his bedroom instead. She looks at her reflection in the mirror; like she'd expected, her cheeks are tinged pink. She swears she'll make Graham pay for this. Splashing cold water to her face, she takes a few deep breaths and feels her face return to its natural color.

When Emma walks out of the bathroom and back into the living room, she sees Graham approach her with an apologetic look on his face.

"Emma, I am so sorry, I know I said I'd walk you and Ruby back to the dorms after the party but I just got a call from the animal shelter and apparently they just brought in a stray that was beaten pretty badly by some sick bastard. I have to leave." It is apparent Graham feels torn between the guilt he feels for having to leave them and the strong urge to do his best in helping the poor creature waiting for him at the shelter. (Graham has been working at the animal shelter for the last three years; by now it's as if canines are his family).

"Yeah, no, I understand. No worries Humbert, Ruby and I can take care of ourselves," Emma says, trying to reassure Graham.

"Thank you Ems, I promise I'll make it up to you," Graham says. After giving Emma a kiss on the cheek, he hurries out of the apartment.

Emma looks around the living room and sees that Ruby is deep in conversation with August. It always amuses her to see Ruby in action, and this time seems to be no different. The killer smile, occasional fluttering of eyelashes, casual touches. August doesn't even stand a chance.

Seeing Ruby is occupied, Emma realizes she doesn't know anyone else in the party. (She knows Killian, of course, but she isn't planning on talking to him anytime soon). Spotting a door on the other side of the room that seems to open up to a balcony, she crosses the room towards it. Grabbing a beer from the table she passes by, she makes her way out the door to the balcony. She welcomes the fresh air when it caresses her face and hair in a soft motion. Leaning her elbows on the railing, she takes a sip of her beer, enjoying the solitude and silence she's found here.

But as luck would have it, the door opens a few minutes later and someone enters the balcony. She doesn't turn around to look; whoever it is, she is pretty sure she either doesn't know them, or doesn't wish to interact with them. Perhaps even both.

"It's a bit chilly out here tonight, love, wouldn't you say," comes the now familiar voice from her right, as the dark haired man leans his back to the railing, facing the door rather than the view the balcony has to offer. "Perhaps you'd like some company to keep you warm?"

"Oh, will you just give up?" Emma says exasperatedly, "I was doing just fine until you came; now the only thing making me shudder is your presence."

"No need to get feisty, love, I was only making sure to be a good host," he drawls, but then Emma sees his face take on a serious expression as he asks, "I saw Humbert leave a moment ago, didn't you come here with him?"

"Yeah, so?" Emma asks, her patience running out.

"So, how are two ladies as fetching as you going to make it home in the middle of the night?" Emma senses an earnest concern under the teasing tone of his voice and she softens a bit.

"I appreciate the concern, Jones, but I assure you, we can take care of ourselves," she says with a more sincere tone.

"Of that, I have no doubt, Swan," Killian replies quickly, "But you shouldn't have to. I'll walk you to wherever you reside."

"That is absolutely unnecessary," Emma protests, "It's a five minute walk from here, ten at the very most. Anyways, since when are you such a gentleman?"

"Ah, make no mistake, love, I am _always_ a gentleman." Killian says wryly. "Besides, I could use a late night stroll to sort some things out."

Emma looks at him quizzically, but his face gives no clue about what he might be referring to. Deciding it's just another way for him to tease her, she lets it go.

They stand in the balcony in silence for a few minutes, she'd think it'd be an awkward one, but surprisingly, it's not.

"Why exactly are you standing around with me, Jones," Emma inquires after a moment. "Isn't this your victory party? Why aren't you in there enjoying the spotlight?"

"Because it has never been about winning for me, love," Killian answers with a somber expression on his face. He doesn't make eye contact, but Emma is pretty sure there is a tragic story in there somewhere.

"Why else would you be competing in a tournament, if not for winning?" Emma asks. The man before her intrigues her as much as he infuriates her.

"When I was a boy, my brother used to take me out on his boat. We would swim and sometimes even fish. He was my best friend. Now I only swim because it reminds me of him," Killian says. Then his lips turn upwards in a smirk, "Being the best swimmer is just an added bonus, I simply can't help but excel at everything I do."

Emma snorts, realizing now more than ever that his sarcasm is merely a defense mechanism. She wonders what else is there about this man that just isn't as it seems to be.

"Your brother, did he die?" Emma asks quietly; when Killian gives a shaky nod, she can't help but frown when she says, "I am very sorry Killian."

In that moment, August opens the door, an inebriated Ruby by his side, and looks at Emma helplessly. Emma sighs; she's had to carry Ruby home countless times after she'd drunk too much. (It's not that Ruby is a lightweight, mind you, she just consumes the amount of alcohol that would knock a 200 pound guy out cold every time they go out).

"Ooh, Emma, I didn't know you were talking to Captain Hottie," Ruby slurs and lets out a giggle, the alcohol having taken away what little inhibitions she'd had before.

"Ruby, please stop saying things you'll regret in the morning," Emma reprimands her with a disapproving look on her face.

He shares a look with Killian, who seems to be amused with the situation (Probably because of the nickname Ruby has come up with for him). Emma raises her eyebrows and gives him a look that says "Are you seriously laughing at my best friend's intoxicated state?" and Killian immediately sobers up.

"Alright then, Swan, let's get you home."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** These adorable idiots will be the death of me.

Tell me one thing you did/didn't like about this chapter in the reviews.

Also, tell me what you thought about the Ruby/August pairing. I know that Ruby is mostly paired with Victor or sometimes Graham, but I loved August so much on the show and I wanted to explore his character a bit more. Plus, you have to admit, they do make a cute couple! ;)

Thanks to tnplh, Melly326, M, and someone named 'Hello' for their lovely reviews. Also, special thanks to Kaicchan for leaving me a list of what she liked about the story so far. I love swimmer!Killian and it is my pleasure to bring him to you! :)


	4. Drunken Laughters & Unadmitted Thoughts

**A/N:** Here, have this chapter as a new year's gift *throws confetti*

Admittedly nothing much happens on the actions fort, but we get to see some emotional development.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Previously on Unexpected Distractions:<em>**

_In that moment, August opens the door, an inebriated Ruby by his side, and looks at Emma helplessly. _

_[...]_

_"Alright then, Swan, let's get you home."_

* * *

><p>Killian, ever the gentleman, motions for Emma to go through the door before him. Without standing on ceremony, Emma makes her way into the living room, quickly gathering Ruby's belongings from where they were thrown haphazardly. She first helps her friend into her coat, and then shrugs her own leather jacket on. (The winter may be almost over but it's still cold outside).<p>

Sitting Ruby down on the couch, Emma speaks shyly, "Um, August, before we go, could you bring Ruby a glass of water?" She was never one to easily ask for things.

Nodding, August hurries towards the kitchen and a moment later appears with a glass of water in hand. Passing it to Ruby he mock-whispers, "If you got this drunk so that you could claim not to remember you'd promised me a coffee date, you are in for a disappointment, because I have at least two eyewitnesses."

"You are funny," Ruby drunkenly giggles at August's words. "Why would I want to get out of a date with an absolute mancake like you?"

A surprised look crosses August's features for a second, but then he smiles fondly at Ruby and says, "I was just making sure."

Emma sighs, deciding it's time for them to go home before Ruby says something that won't be so easy to recover from.

"Come on, Rubs, we should get going now."

At that moment she makes eye contact with Killian, realizing he's getting ready to leave with them to walk them back as he'd promised. (Emma isn't going to protest, walking alone in the dark and probably deserted streets at 1 AM with a drunken woman by her side isn't something she's eager to do.)

Ruby stands up, albeit a bit too quickly, and loses her balance, stumbling forward. August catches her and steadies her by draping an arm around her waist. She looks up at him, a drunken grin slowly forming on her face. Without a word, Emma steps to the other side of Ruby and replaces August's arm with her own.

"Thank you for taking care of Ruby," she says addressing August. He has somewhat earned Emma's blessing with the way he treated Ruby tonight.

"Anytime," he answers Emma, all the while smiling softly at the brunette.

"You ready to head out, Swan?" Killian asks from where he is standing by the door. Emma nods and the two women make their way to the door Killian's holding for them.

A chilly breeze greets them as they step outside the apartment. It helps Ruby sober up, but only barely, only enough so that she doesn't trip over her own feet every thirty seconds. Emma heaves a deep sigh and disentangles herself from her friend, staying close in case she loses her balance again. After a minute of making sure Ruby has gained full control of her limbs, she takes a step away and the three of them start walking towards the dorms side by side. Killian is surprisingly silent, wistful even, as he stares ahead, walking with slow and deliberate steps with his hands tucked in his pockets.

Ruby may have gained her balance, but apparently her mouth to brain filter hasn't kicked in yet, which becomes painfully obvious when she opens her mouth to talk.

"August asked me out on a date, Emma," she says, sighing dreamily. "And he was so sweet about it. Actually, you know what? I think he is the sweetest guy I ever met. He didn't say shit like 'We should hang out some time, go to a movie or whatever' like the other million and one douchebags out there." She talks in a low, mocking voice, which is supposed to be her douchebag impression and Emma lets out a barking laugh at her antics.

"Ruby, are you sure you want talk about this with his best friend by our side," Emma warns, "You are practically laying your hand open for him."

The brunette seems unperturbed by Emma's warning as she continues, "Plus, he is a total hunk. I mean, have you seen that body?! I want me some of that!"

Realizing how hard Killian is trying to hold in his laughter, Emma decides to take matters in hand.

"Ruby I suggest you stop talking right this instant."

Realizing how serious Emma is even in her drunken state, Ruby presses her lips together immediately as if she is a little child that was scolded by her mother. She picks up speed and starts walking in front of them, placing one foot right in front of the other, both her arms open for balance. This leaves Emma and Killian walking side by side.

Turning her attention to Killian, she inquires, "You are going to tell August all about this, aren't you?"

"I think he at least deserves a brief summary, wouldn't you say, love," Killian says teasingly.

"Well, perhaps it'll teach Ruby a lesson about drunkenly rambling about her crushes," Emma retorts, although Killian can tell from the fondness in her tone that she isn't mad at Ruby.

"Ruby is lucky to have such a friend as you to look after her, Swan."

"Well, I know what it's like to have no one to watch your back," Emma says. There is an edge of bitterness in her voice that Killian can't quite put his finger on. "She deserves better than that."

Killian wonders to himself who it was that broke this beautiful woman before her. He feels a strong urge to break that person in an entirely different fashion. However, he doesn't voice his question, knowing she isn't ready to open up to her in such a way. After all, they barely know each other, which makes the strong pull he feels towards this woman even more ridiculous.

While Killian chooses to remain silent, Emma withdraws to her thoughts as well, trying to make sense of why she's just said what she said. Her past of being unloved and left behind is something she just doesn't talk about, and decidedly so. But ever since Killian's confession merely half an hour ago about the reason why he joined the swim team, she's started to see him under a different light. It's apparent his earlier days lacked familial love just like hers did, perhaps that is why she feels like she could open up to this man; because she sees a kindred spirit in him.

Too deep in thought to pay attention to her surroundings, Emma is startled to realize that they've already made it to the campus door.

"We've already made it to the campus, Jones, you don't have to trouble yourself with coming any further. Ruby and I will be fine from here on."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, love, I'll sleep well tonight if I know for sure that you've made it home safe and sound."

Emma sighs, too tired after the long day she's had to argue with him. They walk for two more minutes in silence, finally coming to a halt in front of the dorms.

"I hope you won't insist on accompanying us to our door," Emma says, turning to Killian.

She sees his eyes light up with a teasing glint when he answers, "Why, love, you a bit worried the temptation to whisk me inside to have your wicked way with me will be too great?" He does something obscene with his tongue and Emma swears her heart skips a beat.

She snorts nonetheless, trying not to let it show that his shameless advances are leaving something other than irritation in their wake for the first time –a warm feeling in her belly. She blames it on the two beers she's had, even though she knows the cool air and the walk home have already cleared what little intoxication those two beers had caused.

"Good night, Jones," says Emma before turning to leave, leaving his suggestive remark unanswered.

"Yeah, good night, Cap'n," Ruby says, giggling.

"Good night, ladies," Killian says, waiting until they've both entered the building before turning around to make his way back home. He was right when he told Emma that he could use a late night stroll to sort things out. The things being how this fiery blonde could come into his life and make him feel things he hasn't felt in a long time in the span of just a few brief interactions.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Emma wakes up at 10 AM, fully rested. It is a Saturday, which is why she got to sleep as much as she did. Though she is going to have to get a start on her revisions later in the day, (The semester already started, and she is just not the kind of student to start learning for finals the night before) she decides to go out and get them breakfast first. She tries to recall how long it's been since the last time she's prepared a meal, instead of getting takeout, but the information eludes her, so she concludes that it's been <em>too<em> long. Admittedly, they should cook more. All the takeout they've been having impact both their financial and physical state negatively.

It's a five minute walk to Granny's (Where else would she go for breakfast, anyway) and once she's arrived, she immediately goes to order –waffles and a latte for Ruby, chocolate chip pancakes and hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon for her. Once the orders are ready, she quickly makes her way back home, so that they can eat before everything's gone cold.

When the clock marks the next hour, Emma wakes Ruby up with promises of freshly brewed coffee and waffles. They settle at their living room table with their respective plates and beverages of choice.

After silently sipping at her latte for a few minutes, Ruby finally speaks up. "Now that everything's coming back to me, I realize I might have made a fool out of myself at some point."

This makes Emma laugh, "Yeah, that's one way putting it."

Even though it isn't ideal to get drunk off your ass and _poorly_ compliment the guy you've had your eyes on for a while, Emma knows it doesn't matter. From what she saw the night before, Ruby has August. She's probably had him since the handshake.

"Surprisingly, he still wants to have that coffee date with me," Ruby says. Emma realizes that her friend is trying to be casual about it, but underneath, she is excited.

"Surprisingly?" Emma says, imitating Ruby. "Look at you; of course he still wants that coffee date. If anything, he should be even more attracted to you now that he's seen how much alcohol you can get into your system without passing out."

"Well, you know me."

They both laugh. Emma feels like she's found the family she'd very much missed in the earlier years of her life in the lively brunette sitting next to her. After their laughter has died down to silent chuckles, Ruby cocks her head to the side, "So, what's the deal with you and Captain Eyecandy?"

"There is no _deal _with me and Cap… Jones. Why would you even say that?"

"Oh come on, Ems, I was worried the sexual tension between you two was going to set the entire room on fire and turn us into crispy corpses."

"Oh come on, don't be ridiculous. You know I don't have time for that sort of thing. In fact, I have to go and revise the stuff from last week's classes right now, I am already behind."

With that, Emma gets up to leave the room and Ruby yells after her, her tone getting quieter as Emma moves further away from the room. "You can run, but you can't hide!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, August and Killian are sat at their kitchen table, sipping coffees and eating the omelets Killian's made.<p>

"So, you are taking Ruby out for coffee?"

"Yeah, you should try asking the blonde lady on a date yourself."

"And why would I want to do that, mate?"

"Because it's obvious you both have the hots for each other."

"_You_ are delusional, and _I_ am off to the gym."

"You can run, but you can't hide!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Of course our babies are in denial. Well, let's hope they get their heads out of their asses soon!

Aaaand, Happy New Year guys! I hope this one is better than the one before.

Sorry about the length of this chapter. I know they've been kinda short so far. But there is a point at this story that I'm trying to reach and I feel like after that the words will come pouring out of me. Hope you can bear with me till then.

Thanks to sperchikoff, somerholish (you know ily), Melly326, Guest and M for their reviews, they make me happy! This chapter's special thank you goes out to SkyStroller for leaving the most detailed review this story has seen so far. I love it that you've taken the time to do so.

Leave a comment telling me one thing you'd like to see happen in this fic.

Also, you can tell me one thing you did/didn't like about this chapter.

May we meet again.


	5. Chance Encounters

**A/N:** I am kinda nervous about this chapter, you guys. I'm not sure if I was able to do it justice. Let me know if you like it.

* * *

><p>It's another Tuesday morning, the only weekday neither of them has morning classes, and Ruby and Emma are making the most of it by spending some quality time together, which they haven't been able to do since the party because of their busy schedules and Emma's hardcore studying, despite the fact that they live together. Emma is lying on the couch facing her best friend while Ruby sits at the table simultaneously talking and applying a fresh coat of blood red nail polish to her fingers, occasionally waving the nail polish around as she gets too excited.<p>

"Oh, Emma he was so _sweet_, we met up on campus the other day and we drove on his bike to this amazing… oh gosh did I mention that he drives a _motorcycle_? How much sexier can this guy get before I combust into a million pieces? Anyway, we drove to this amazing spot with the most beautiful view. Then he pulled out a thermos and two mugs out of his bag. He said something like, I said a coffee date, I never mentioned a coffee _shop_ and also he'd made the coffee himself and it was delicious and he was so sweet."

"You already said that," Emma says laughingly, "I am happy for you." It really does warm her heart to see how happy Ruby is. It also makes her wonder, however, about whether she'll ever have that.

As if she can hear her thoughts, Ruby speaks to Emma in a soft voice.

"You know you could be happy, too, if you would just give yourself a chance."

"I'll give myself a chance once I'm working at the Child Protective Services."

"Emma," Ruby says cautiously. "I understand the nobility behind your goal, and I understand where you are coming from. But please don't be so hard on yourself. If you won't put yourself out there, at least promise me you'll be open to the possibility of love when it comes knocking on your door. Okay?"

"I am not sure if either of us is going to live to see the day, but if it'll make you feel better, then fine. I promise."

"Oh just come over here and give me a hug," Ruby cries out, touched by her friend's promise. The hug turns out to be an awkward one, because Ruby tries to avoid ruining her freshly done nails and Emma's hair is everywhere and they break apart laughing.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Emma is sitting at a local coffee shop named 'the Chipped Cup' and sipping at the café miel she's ordered while going through her notes from her Philosophy class. It is a beverage with a shot of espresso, steamed milk, honey and cinnamon in it, which is her way of staying true to her love for cinnamon while still getting her much needed caffeine fix. She's thrown herself into her studies lately, which means less sleep and a lot more caffeine. Not that she is complaining, she knows what she'll achieve in the end is worth going through this trouble.<p>

She's been coming to this coffee shop for the last four months. She discovered it one day by chance when the cold weather was being exceptionally relentless and she was in desperate need of shelter. She came for the much needed warmth it had provided, and stayed for the delicious beverages and cozy atmosphere. There are almost a dozen plush armchairs in the coffee shop, which she prefers to a regular wooden chair. The counter is across from the door, and on the wall behind it there is a chalkboard, which the owner updates with an encouragement every few days. Today it reads, _"__Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do."_ Speaking of the owner, she is a lovely woman in her mid-twenties named Belle, who'd talked to Emma when she came in for the third time. Now that Emma is practically a regular, Belle gives her scones and blueberry muffins from time to time, which are always delicious.

As engrossed as she is in her notes, Emma doesn't realize the figure towering over her. So she almost jumps out of her skin when a husky voice comes from above her head.

"Fancy meeting you here."

She looks up, only to find none other than Killian Jones trying to suppress a smirk, apparently amused with her aggravated state. He is wearing all black today –a black crewneck sweater (underneath his trademark black leather jacket, of course), black jeans that fit him _just right_ and black combat boots. She also notices that he's wearing a silver pendant around his neck. You'd think that wouldn't suit a guy, but he somehow manages to rock that as well. Emma has to admit he looks good, so good even, that she feels slightly uncomfortable in her black jeggings and her loose fitting beige sweater.

"My apologies, lass, it wasn't my intention to scare you, I merely wanted to say hello. Would you mind if I sit down?"

"Suit yourself, Jones," Emma says before turning back to the notes in her hand. She doesn't have time for small talk; she just wants to read through her notes in peace.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Emma reading and Killian looking outside the window to the busy street. In the background, an angelic male voice is singing about how he is too young to keep good love from going wrong.

Focusing his attention back on the blonde sitting across from him, Killian suddenly feels the urge to engage her in conversation.

"So, what is it you're reading, Swan?" he inquires.

"It's just some notes for this Philosophy class I'm taking," Emma says nonchalantly.

"We are enriched not by what we possess, but by what we can do without," Killian recites from memory. "It's…"

"Immanuel Kant, I know," Emma says with a taken aback expression, looking up from the papers for the first time since Killian's taken the seat opposite her.

"Don't look so surprised, love, you'll wound my pride," Killian says teasingly.

"It's just… I wouldn't have pegged you as a guy who'd be into Philosophy."

"Why, because of the stupid jock, hasn't read a book since elementary school stereotype?" He raises his eyes in challenge.

Emma laughs softly at Killian's self-deprecating humor. She wonders how many times the man before her is going to have to surprise her before she quits making assumptions about him.

"Yeah, alright, it was very biased of me." Emma admits laughing.

"Well, love, if I were you, I'd lay off the assumptions altogether, seeing there is a lot that you don't know about me," Killian retorts.

"Okay, give me three things that I should know about you, then."

"I have Irish roots, I can play the guitar, and I once acted out an entire scene out of The Fellowship of the Rings in the town square… Naked."

Emma throws her head back in laughter. "Oh no, you didn't."

"Sure did," Killian replies, "You see, I'd had quite a bit to drink."

With that, they both resolve into laughter once more. At that moment Emma realizes that this feels _easy_. Killian Jones makes her feel comfortable in her own skin, which is more than she can say for most of the people she's known.

"Well, fair is fair, lass, give me three things about yourself."

Emma sits up in her chair and clears her throat. "Let's see… I am 21, I don't know how to ride a bike, and I've been cutting my own hair for the last five years."

"Oh, come on, you didn't give me anything good," Killian protests. Emma answers by only shrugging her shoulders. (She did give him something good, but she isn't about to explain to him that the reason she can't ride a bike is because she grew up in foster care and no one cared enough to teach her how).

Killian's expression suddenly turns into a serious one. "Just who are you, Swan?" he asks, tilting his head to the side.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she retorts staring right into his eyes that have now taken on a grayish shade.

"Perhaps I would," Killian replies with a sincere tone that surprises Emma. She feels like the air around them is crackling with electricity and she can't bring herself to look away from his intense gaze. She sees vulnerability and perhaps… longing there? Surely she must be making things up, there is no way the man before her has intentions any more serious than getting into her pants.

"Well, you are in for a disappointment, Jones, because I don't think we'll be braiding each other's hair and sharing our tragic pasts anytime soon," she attempts to joke, trying to break the tension that has engulfed them.

"That's probably for the best, Swan, I don't think a braid would suit me in the least," Killian quips, and with that, they're out of the danger zone.

"Oh, I can actually see the Jack Sparrow-ish long hair, occasional braid, guy liner vibe totally working for you."

"Well, I do have _some_ tendencies towards piracy. Plus, the whole 'a different woman in every port' thing speaks to me as well." Killian waggles his eyebrows and Emma can't help but snort at his antics.

"There is always the possibility of walking the plank, being overthrown by your crew or losing a limb, but sure, let's focus on the women," Emma quips. By now, her philosophy notes are lying forgotten on the coffee table before them.

"Do my ears deceive me, or are you jealous of imaginary bar wenches, Swan?" Killian says, smirking as a slight blush begins to form on Emma's cheeks.

"You wish," she says, her comeback sounding lame even to her own ears.

"Yeah, I actually wouldn't mind," Killian retorts, enjoying Emma's flustered state too much to let it go just yet.

Clearing her throat, Emma attempts to change the topic into one that doesn't make her unbelievably uncomfortable. "What do you study, anyway, Jones?" she asks.

"I see you haven't done your research on me properly," Killian teases her once more, but decides to drop it when Emma shoots him an unimpressed look. "I study Engineering, I want to build ships after I graduate." he explains.

"Does this have to with your brother as well?" Emma asks in a quiet tone, afraid that she might be prying.

"Quite perceptive, aren't you, Swan," Killian says, smiling sadly. "That is, in fact, part of the reason why I decided to major in this certain area." He looks at his hands that he's folded in his lap before continuing. "However, I'd always had an interest in mechanics and the machinery behind how things work, as well. I'll also get to work somewhere near the sea. I don't think I could find a more perfect line of work."

Emma smiles at how his eyes shine when he talk about ships and the sea. Then he looks up and their eyes meet once more, locked in an intense gaze. After a moment, Killian clears his throat and looks down at the watch he's wearing.

"I would've loved to inquire you about your major of choice, but I'd better get going," Killian says getting up from his chair, "I have swim practice in half an hour."

Emma is surprised at the twinge of disappointment she feels at his words. "Okay, I guess I'll see you around." she says, and her sentence sounds like a hopeful question even to her ears.

Killian smiles down at her and answers, "I sure hope so."

He turns to leave but before he even makes it to the door, he turns around and approaches her once more. Emma looks up to him with curiosity. He seems nervous for some reason.

"Um, listen, I am sorry to have interrupted your study session, and I might be going out on a limb here, but I had a lot of fun and I was wondering if you would, uh, by any chance, like to do this again?" He scratches behind his ear, which Emma has started to identify as a nervous tic. (She also thinks it's adorable, not that she'll ever mention it).

"Are you trying to ask me out, Jones," Emma says teasingly.

Killian chuckles softly. "Quite inarticulately so, yes."

Emma's first instinct is to say no and run for the hills. Then she looks at the handsome man before her, who is incidentally also smart and funny, and she remembers the promise she's made to Ruby. (Not that Killian Jones asking her out necessarily means love coming to knock on her door, but still…)

"Yes, I would like that."

With that, she quickly gives him her number and after a minute Killian's out the door, walking with a pep in his step that wasn't there before.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Know that I forever love you if you understood which song was playing in the coffee shop.

Also, the first date is coming up in the next chapter! Where do you think Killian will take her? You can leave a review with your guess/suggestion.

Thanks to Kaicchan and 7Amers for their reviews. Special thanks to my dearest friend Sevval for her unwavering support of me and this story.

I am starting to lose my dedication to this story due to lack of response, but I'll try to get it together, and I hope to see ya again.


	6. Here's to Some Firsts

**A/N: **Here's the first date! It's the longest chapter so far. Hope you like it.

End of the chapter. More notes.

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><p><span><strong><em>Previously on Unexpected Distractions:<em>**

_"__Um, listen, I am sorry to have interrupted your study session, and I might be going out on a limb here, but I had a lot of fun and I was wondering if you would, uh, by any chance, like to do this again?"_

_[…]_

_ "__Yes, I would like that."_

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><p>That evening her phone chimes, signaling a text message. She casts her notes to the side and reaches for her phone.<p>

_Unknown Number: I am taking you out this Saturday afternoon. Wear something casual. This is Killian Jones, by the way. Although I do hope you didn't give another guy your number in regards to a date._

**_Swan: I guess you'll never know ;) saturday afternoon sounds good, see you then._**

_Killian Jones: See you, love._

Emma smiles at the phone in her hand, the way he says "love" ringing in her ears.

* * *

><p>It's Saturday morning and for the first time since she's agreed to go out with Killian Jones, Emma starts to feel nervous. She considers cancelling on Killian last minute, but decides against it, thinking she owes it to herself to at least give this thing a chance. After all, she hasn't gone out on a date since before college. Checking the time, she realizes she has almost two hours before Killian will arrive to pick her up, so she decides to take a bath to calm her nerves. After soaking in the water for a good forty five minutes, she makes hot chocolate for herself, adding a healthy amount of cinnamon and wondering how her morning turned into 'pamper yourself' day. She then proceeds to dry her hair so that it tumbles down her shoulders in its natural curls. Going through her clothes, she decides on a long sleeved white and navy blue striped shirt and dark wash skinny jeans. The spring is upon them and the weather is exceptionally nice today, so why not take full advantage and lay off the sweaters for a day?<p>

Just as she leaves her room, Ruby leaves hers and they nearly bump into each other in the hallway. After a moment of gaining her balance, Ruby eyes her suspiciously from head to toe.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a date," Emma mumbles under her breath, dreading the inquisition that is sure to follow her revelation.

"A date? With whom?" Ruby asks excitedly.

"Killian Jones?" Emma says, her voice growing quieter as she utters her date's name, and it ends up sounding like a question.

"Emma!" Ruby half-shouts. "Couldn't you have given a girl a warning? Now I owe August 20 bucks."

Emma's eyebrows shoot up at Ruby's comment. "What do you mean you owe August 20 bucks?"

Ruby winces as if she's a little child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Well, he was certain Killian would ask you out," Ruby starts to explain cautiously, "But I never thought you'd say yes."

"I can't believe you would bet on the inexistence of my love life!" Emma says in an exasperated tone.

"Well, what's happened happened." Ruby says shrugging her shoulders. "But now you'd better make it worth my money! What are you even wearing?"

"Well, he specifically told me to dress casual," Emma says, looking down at her outfit and suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Okay, but you could have put a bit more effort into it," Ruby suggests. "Come on, I'll be very subtle." With that she coaxes Emma into her room. Ruby's room is exactly like hers, except Ruby has a mountain of colorful pillows on her bed and tons of toiletries on her dresser, most of which are completely unfamiliar to Emma.

"Here, put these earrings on," Ruby says, passing Emma a pair of silver earrings shaped like snowflakes. "And these rings." Now a few knuckle rings are passed her way and she puts them on. Admittedly, they look very good on her slender fingers.

"Lastly, let's do something about your face," Ruby says, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Are you thinking piercings, because that's a no-no." Emma says.

"No, silly, I'm thinking makeup." Ruby says smirking at Emma in a way that makes her nervous. "Surely you are familiar with the concept."

Emma rolls her eyes at her best friend's comment. "Very funny."

"Alright, come here," Ruby says, the smirk disappearing from her face as she gets all serious, knitting her eyebrows as she contemplates what to do about Emma's makeup.

Ruby keeps her promise about being subtle, only applying a very thin line of eyeliner, a coat of mascara and a light pink lipstick. Still, the eyeliner makes Emma's eyes stand out and she's got to admit she looks better than she did 15 minutes ago.

Just then, Emma feels her phone buzz in her back pocket, signaling a text message. She retrieves it from her pocket to see what the message is about.

"Oh, shoot, Jones says he'll be here in five," Emma explains to her roommate, looking up from the phone she's clutching in her hand.

"Okay, you're good to go anyways," Ruby says, giving her a once-over and an approving look. "When you come back, I'll be waiting. With a lot of questions. We are gonna talk about this, Missy."

"Yeah, okay," Emma says, looking back as she leaves Ruby's room. She quickly puts her white Keds and her red leather jacket on, and then makes her way out of the building.

Outside the door, Killian's waiting for her, casually leaning on the passenger door of a black convertible Mercedes. He is wearing a gray t-shirt that accentuates his broad shoulders and firm chest (courtesy of swim practices), black jeans and his trademark combat boots. The wayfarer sunglasses he's wearing compliments his sharp features and creates a look that's _really_ pleasing to the eye. Emma appreciates the view before her for a moment, then calls out his name. Upon hearing her voice, Killian looks up, takes off his sunglasses and smiles at her.

Right then, his dimples makes an appearance, the sunlight glazes his face in just the right angle, making his eyes look bluer than ever and Emma feels her breath catch in her throat at how incredibly attractive the man before her is.

Killian's thought process is pretty much the same. The sunlight reflects off Emma's hair, making it look as if it's made of gold. Her flawless complexion is emphasized by the sunlight and she looks straight out of a Renaissance painting.

"You look stunning, Swan," Killian says with an awestruck expression on his face.

"I look exactly how I look every single day, Jones," Emma retorts, but then she feels the urge to return the compliment. "You look..."

"I know." He says, smirking at her smugly.

She snorts at his antics, then turning attention to the car, she asks, "So, you own a car? You own THIS car?"

Killian laughs before he answers, "Sadly, no, I borrowed the car from Victor. He is on the swim team, and his family is kinda loaded. He owed me a favor."

Emma raises an eyebrow at his comment but he just grins and says, "Don't ask."

He holds out the passenger door for Emma to get in, and then after shutting it, moves towards the driver's side.

"So, where are we headed?" Emma asks after buckling her seatbelt and making herself comfortable in her seat.

"It's a surprise," Killian grins at her cheekily.

"I don't like surprises," Emma says, putting on the grumpiest face she can manage.

Killian chuckles at her expression and says, "I hope you'll make an exception for this one."

"I can't make any promises," Emma says, turning towards the window to hide the smile that creeps to her lips despite her best efforts.

After a twenty minute drive filled with small talk and good-natured banter about who gets to pick the music (It's my car, Swan, I should be the one to pick the music.) (You _borrowed_ it, besides, shotgun always picks the music.), they arrive at a lakeside. Killian hops off and rushes to open Emma's door, bowing down very low as she gets out. Milady, he says and Emma snorts.

He opens the trunk to retrieve a picnic basket and a red and white checkered blanket.

"You prepared us a picnic," Emma states with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, everything you are about to eat has been prepared by my very own hands," Killian announces proudly.

Emma is so touched by this small yet very sweet gesture; she still isn't used to people going out of their ways for her.

Killian lays out the blanket under a tree not far from the lake, and they both sit down. The view is breathtaking this time of the year; the sky is clear, the snow has long melted and the grass is green. There are people of all ages around them; kids playing, parents watching their kids, ready to run to their side if necessary, and other couples enjoying romantic picnics.

As Emma takes in the scenery around her, Killian starts to empty the basket's contents onto the blanket. There are two sandwiches, "I made one tuna and one chicken caesar sandwich. I'm good with either, so pick whichever you like," Killian says as he puts them down. (Emma picks tuna.)

He then unpacks a plastic container filled with Macaroni salad. Emma raises an eyebrow and says, "You made this?" Killian beams at her as he responds, "Aye."

Lastly, he takes out another container filled with sliced fruits, two forks, a thermos and two cups.

"Wow, you really went all out," Emma says, looking at the full meal in front of her.

She takes a bite off her tuna sandwich and can't help the low sound that escapes her throat at how delicious it is.

"Wait until you taste my actual cooking," Killian grins proudly.

As they eat, Emma tells Killian about the first time she met Ruby (How they were assigned the same suite in freshman year and it took Emma weeks to get used to Ruby's constant chipper state) and Killian recites tales about his and August's drunken escapades. (Once they broke into the zoo just to hang out with the llamas, Killian tells her. "They spit a lot, but they're great company." He claims he is a lot tamer than he was back in freshman year.)

* * *

><p>"Come on then, Swan," Killian says as he stands up and dusts off his pants, beckoning her to do the same, as well. Once she's on her feet, he shoves the empty containers into the basket and neatly folds the blanket. They make a quick pit stop by the car to leave the basket.<p>

"I do hope you have a strong pair of legs for what comes next," Killian says, raising his eyebrows in an obvious challenge. He looks towards the lake, where several groups of people are riding paddle boats.

"Are we gonna…" Emma trails off with a questioning tone, trying to tone down her excitement. It's one of those things she always saw families do together when she was a child, but no one bothered to take her. Memories like that haven't made Emma bitter, on the contrary, she's rather eager to catch up on whatever she's missed out on whenever she finds the opportunity.

"If you want. I thought it might be fun," Killian says, suddenly unsure of himself.

"Yeah, I'd love that," Emma says, quickly reassuring him.

Killian helps her into one of the paddle boats, and they move away from the shore, aimlessly wandering about the lake. She decides she likes it, unlike the arcades, which she absolutely despised when she visited one at 17.

"Tell me your story," Emma says suddenly, after they've wandered about for a couple of minutes without talking, both too engrossed in trying to take in the beautiful scenery around them.

"I already told you the Gandalf and naked drunkenness story, once, Swan," Killian jokes.

She lets out a laugh but quickly sobers up, "No, I meant your brother, and your family."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you found pleasure in making me recall my sorrowful past, Swan," he teases, but he immediately sobers up when Emma shoots him an unimpressed look. "As you already know, my brother passed away. The part of the story that you don't know is, that he was the only family I had left, my father having abandoned us when I was 4 and my mother having died when I was 9. Liam was ten years older than me so he became my legal guardian. When he died five years later in a boat accident, I was forced to live with distant relatives and they saw me as a burden more than anything. I left there as soon as I could."

"I am sorry, Killian, I realize that what I'm forcing you to reveal isn't first date material."

"I'd ask you to share your stories, but that hasn't worked so well for me in the past." He gives a small smile to her before continuing, "Alas, I have most of your story mapped out in my mind."

When Emma looks at him questioningly, Killian continues with a teasing glint in his eyes. "What can I say; you're somewhat of an open book."

"Am I?" Emma asks with a disbelieving undertone.

"Well, Swan, I see the look you get every time I talk about my brother or my parents; you can relate to my familial tragedies on a deeper level than most people do, which means you didn't get to experience much of familial love or support either. Perhaps you were abandoned? I've also seen the way you take care of your friends, you value them quite a lot, my guess is, it's because you've spent a lot of time without a friend to watch your back. To top it all off, judging by how hard it was for you to accept a compliment and by the way you responded to my advances at first, you've been broken by a past love."

"Well, now that you've discovered so many of my secrets, I'll have to murder you and bury your body in the sea," Emma tries to joke but gasps in horror as she realizes what she's just said. "Killian I am so sorry, that was very inconsiderate and stupid."

He smiles sadly, "It's alright, love." Just then, a white bird glides on the water towards them and Killian perks up immediately. "Is that..?"

"Don't say it," Emma warns him.

"It's a SWAN." Killian says, gesturing towards the bird excitedly. "Look, Swan, your cousins came looking for you."

At that moment, Emma swears the guy before her is the biggest dork she's ever seen and she can't help but let out an airy laugh. How many different personas does this guy have, anyway? The player, the sweet guy who prepared her a picnic, the arrogant bastard who is painfully aware of his good looks and charms, and now the biggest goofball ever.

When the half an hour they'd rented the paddle boat for is up, they head back to the shore.

"Have I worn you out enough with the paddle boat that I can convince you to get a cone of ice cream before we need to head back?" Killian asks after he's helped her step on the shore without falling face first into the lake.

"Will you be able to provide Rocky Road?" Emma counters teasingly.

"Absolutely," he says, flashing her a grin.

"Lead the way, then," Emma says. Truthfully, the date has been fun. More so than she'd expected and she doesn't want it to be over just yet.

Killian drives them to a local ice cream shop. (There is something off about the owner, Killian says, but she serves the best ice cream in town.)

They walk around for a while, talking over their ice cream cones, making up stories about the strangers they pass by in the street. Killian stops to give a street musician five dollars. (That song is an absolute gem, he explains, he deserves more for being able to pull it off the way he just did.)

It's almost six pm when Emma announces she has to head back soon. They drive back, Killian rushing out of his seat once they pull over in front of the dorms to open Emma's door for her once more. He closes the door once Emma steps out and both of them just stay there, Emma slightly leaning against the passenger door, craning her neck to look up into Killian's eyes. Neither of them moves, neither of them speaks. They just exist in this imaginary bubble, where there is nothing but the two of them. Nothing but eyes as blue as the ocean and disheveled dark hair and adorable dimples. Emma feels the electricity, the pull she's felt several times over the time she's spent with the man before her. Suddenly, Killian's leaning in, his blue eyes moving incredibly closer so that it's impossible for her to look into them anymore. He simply brushes his lips to hers for a few seconds; it's very innocent, yet charged with so much more. Her eyes flutter closed on their own account, and she leans a bit more heavily on the car.

"Goodbye, Swan," he whispers against her lips as he breaks apart from her a few inches.

When she opens her eyes, she sees that his are still closed. After a moment, he opens them and takes a step back, allowing Emma to make her way towards the dorms. She turns around after taking a few steps to say, "Goodbye, Killian."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Okay, so, the paddle boating scene was my nod to the awesome movie that is 10 Things I Hate About You, because Patrick & Kat's relationship kinda reminds me of CS and also because Heath Ledger.

This chapter was pure fluff and you can expect a few more of these because I am a softie like that.

Thanks to Melly326 (You are my most consistent reviewer and I love you for it), What's-in-a-penname-anyway, nananafangirl, sperchikoff and Mar for their lovely reviews. Every single one of them made my face light up!

There are two special thanks for this chapter. Firstly, thanks to my main source of support & inspiration, my dearest friend Sevval. Secondly, thanks to SkyStroller for her thought-out review and for giving me the push I needed to finish this chapter.

Leave a review and tell me one thing you did/didn't like about this chapter. Know that every single review makes the next update arrive a bit sooner. (Yeah, I am totally bribable like that.) (Is that a word? It is now.)

Hope to see ya again.


	7. After Effects

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter is so short and terrible; it was all I could manage to squeeze through the massive writer's block I'm having.

* * *

><p>Emma walks up the stairs to the suite in a daze, the sweetness of Killian's kiss still lingering on her lips. It had certainly taken her by surprise, and she has to give Killian points for bravery. It was very short, too short for her to fully comprehend what was happening and respond to it properly, yet it still managed to ignite something within her.<p>

With her head filled with thoughts of the date, and the kiss, Emma absentmindedly fumbles for her keys and opens the door to the suite. Once inside, she closes the door behind herself, leaning lightly against it. She nearly loses her balance and falls over when Ruby impatiently calls out to her from her place on the living room couch that is just to the right from the door. "So, how was it?"

Ruby is looking at her with expectant eyes and Emma rolls her eyes at her. Just as she is opening her mouth to throw a snarky comeback, a male voice interrupts her.

"How was what?" Graham says, coming out of the kitchen with two pizza boxes in his hand.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Emma says raising her eyebrows at him and avoiding his question.

"He bribed his way in with pizza," Ruby says, shrugging her shoulders and grinning.

"How was what?" Graham repeats his initial question, looking from one woman to the other.

"Emma had a _very_ big date today," Ruby says in a sing-song voice, which annoys Emma and makes her want to snort at the same time. So she rolls her eyes at Ruby, to which she answers with a smirk.

An expression of surprise crosses Graham's features for a moment, but then his lips turn up into a grin that's too big for his face as he finally sits down, passes one of the pizza boxes to Ruby, places the other on the coffee table and inquires, "Who's the luck guy?"

Emma is still standing in the middle of the room, and she remembers the conversation she'd had with Graham at the celebration party a month ago about Killian. "Killian's got a reputation Emma," Graham had said, "You should be careful around him." In turn, she'd clearly stated that she didn't have any intention of interacting with him. Then she had gone on a date with him. This would surely go over really well.

Emma braces herself for Graham's reaction and cautiously says, "It was Killian Jones."

The changes in Graham's expression are so sudden it's almost comical. One second he is grinning, then he is confused and then he is scowling.

"I thought you didn't like him," he says confusedly, and he is right, she didn't like him at first. Then she got to know him.

"Well, I didn't _know_ him," she tries to explain.

"I told you, he's got a reputation," Graham says, he looks uncomfortable at the idea of Emma being with Killian.

Emma gets why Graham is being this way, he knows the brief version of the heartbreak she went through and is trying to spare her from going through that once more. However, she knows in her gut that this is nothing like what she'd had with Neal. She wants Graham to understand this as well, because he is her friend and what he thinks matters.

"And it is just that, Graham. A reputation. It's only what people think of him. Just because he is a good looking guy who attracts a lot of girls, everyone assumes he is a heartbreaker and a bad boy. But he is not. He is a genuinely nice person," Emma says.

"Okay, wow, you've put a lot of thought into this," Graham says, chuckling.

"Well, Killian and I are very much alike, and us misunderstood rebels gotta look out for each other," Emma jokes.

"Okay, yeah, fine, just know that if he hurts you in any way, his spleen, and, indirectly, his swim career, are gonna suffer for it," Graham says, with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"I appreciate the brotherly concern," Emma says, repeating her words from a month ago in such an entirely different concept that it baffles her, "But you and I both know I'm more than capable of kicking Jones' ass myself if need be."

"Yeah, I know," Graham says chuckling, and then he picks up the box from where he'd left it on the coffee table and asks, "Do you want a slice of pizza?"

"Is it pepperoni?" Emma inquires with one side of her lips tilted up in a smile.

"You bet it is," Graham says, grinning up at her from his place on the couch.

Even though she's had a massive lunch and ice cream with Killian, the mention of pepperoni is enough to persuade her, so she settles next to Graham on the couch and reaches for a slice.

"You eat your pizza now," Ruby says from the couch opposite from them, looking over her box of pizza, "But once it's over, you're out, Humbert. Emma and I are gonna have a bit of girl talk."

Emma groans, knowing Ruby will question her about every little detail and she's not sure if she can find it in herself to dodge so many questions in a row.

"So where have you been, Humbert," Emma asks, "I haven't even seen you since the party."

"Yeah, sorry about that, it's just that everything's been so crazy with school, the swim team, the animal shelter…" Graham says, then he adds with a bashful grin on his face, "Also, I've met someone."

"WHAT? WHO?" both girls shout in unison.

"You wouldn't know her," Graham says, "She is a bit older, her name is Regina. I met her when she came to pick up a dog from the animal shelter three weeks ago."

"So, what's she like," Ruby prompts him to give a little more detail.

"She is very beautiful," Graham says smiling, "Seems a bit reserved at first, but she could take on either one of you in a sass-off."

"I'd like to see her try," Ruby quips, and they all laugh.

"No, but, seriously, we should meet her," Emma says. If the way Graham's features soften when he talks of this mystery woman any indication, she's here to stay.

"It's a bit early for that," Graham says, "But if things go on as they are, sure, why not."

"You really like her, don't you," Emma says, smiling softly at him.

"Graham's in _wuuuuv_," Ruby says in a sing-song voice, and Graham shuts her up by throwing a pillow at her head.

"Oh shut it, Rubs, you're no better than him. I saw how you got with August," Emma reminds Ruby.

"Yeah, well, I didn't get up to the apartment in a daze after my first date," Ruby retorts in return.

They eat their pizza (Emma steals one slice from each of their boxes), and Emma is thankful that she has these people in her life that she can share anything with. They both look out for her in their own ways, but more than that, they don't hesitate to call her out when they think she's making a mistake.

After they finish eating, Ruby starts shooting Graham meaningful glances, and as perceptive as he is, he takes it as his cue to leave. As soon as the door closes after Graham, Emma sees Ruby perk up and heaves a deep sigh.

"So, tell me everything!" Ruby says excitedly, sitting up on the couch and clapping her hands together.

"What do you want to know?" Emma asks with a resigned tone.

"Where did you go? What did you _do_? Did he kiss you goodbye?" Ruby asks, her voice raising a bit more with each question and making Emma wince at the end.

"We went to the lakeside, had a picnic, it was nice." Emma answers curtly, purposefully avoiding the last question, hoping her friend won't take notice.

There is no such luck, however, since Ruby states a moment later with a knowing look in her eyes, "You didn't answer the third question."

"I got studying to do, Rubs," she says as she gets up from the couch, hoping for a clean exit out of the conversation. Unlike Ruby, she isn't used to talking about things like that. Ruby's had a string of boyfriends since Emma met her and she always shared the details with Emma liberally. Conveniently, Emma hadn't had anything in the past few years that she'd have to try and keep from Ruby. Until Killian Jones, that is.

"Oh, my God, you guys totally kissed," Ruby squeals excitedly. After Emma turns back to roll her eyes at her friend from the doorway and closes the door to her room, Ruby sighs and mumbles to herself quietly, "That's five more dollars for August."

As Emma makes a hasty retreat to her room, all the details she'd refrained from giving to Ruby flood her senses. The way Killian's lips brushed hers like a breeze, the way he'd breathed his goodbye against her lips, the way exhilaration unexpectedly shot through her at his kiss, and how it felt like a promise -a promise for something more- rather than a goodbye, the way her lips tingled for minutes after she went back to the suite.

It's odd, she thinks, how this man can make her feel so much with just a brush of his lips, except it's not just a brush of his lips. It's the way he's been with her throughout the entire date –sweet, thoughtful, playful and kind. The kiss is merely his way of sealing, ensuring her affections. Emma is so shocked at the prospect of feeling something so intense for a man she's known for such a short period of time. It's not necessarily love she's feeling, perhaps not even infatuation. It is hope; hope she's learned to bury a long time ago, hope that something good could ever happen to her.

* * *

><p>Killian drives back to his apartment in a daze. It amazes him that he's actually kissed Emma a few minutes ago. What amazes him even more is the fact that Emma <em>let him<em>. She is so reserved with her affections that Killian had feared for a moment that he'd scared her away. But she'd given him a small smile right after the kiss that rekindled the hope within him.

He is in good spirits as he opens the door to the apartment. August is in the living room, intently watching what seems to be the third season of Breaking Bad. (Killian has already watched the entire thing and sometimes threatens August with spoilers to get his way.) He takes his jacket off and settles on the empty couch opposite the one August is occupying at the moment. They sit and watch the rest of the episode in silence, and as soon as it's over, August turns his attention to his flatmate.

"So, where were you today?" he asks.

"I was with the Lady Swan," Killian says grinning.

"You asked her out?" August says disbelievingly.

"Aye," Killian nods.

"And she said yes?" August asks once again.

"I did say I was with her, didn't I?" Killian quips.

"That's my man!" August says, holding his hand up, clearly expecting a high five.

Killian delivers the expected high five, but not before he makes a show of expressing how ridiculous he finds the entire thing.

"Did you kiss her?" August asks waggling his eyebrows.

"You know a gentleman never kisses and tells," Killian retorts grinning.

"I'll take that as a yes," August says unfazed, "Which means Ruby owes me a total of 25 dollars."

"You had a bet going on about us?" Killian says incredulously. When August nods at him, smirking, he can't help his own grin as he adds, "Oh Emma is so gonna have both your heads."

A few hours later, Killian is lying on top of the covers of his bed with one of his arms tucked behind his head, thinking back to the date. He very much wants a repeat and decides to forego all pretenses and tell her so. So he reaches for his phone, finds Emma in his contact list and sends her a message.

Emma is in her room, trying to catch up on her studies when her phone buzzes on the nightstand. She tries to ignore it and turn back to her textbook, but the curiosity gets the better of her, so she stands up to see what it's about.

_[Killian Jones]: I had a lot of fun today._

Seeing it is a text from Killian, she sits down on the edge of her bed, tucks her hair behind her ear, smiling, and responds.

**_[Swan]: me too._**

_[Killian Jones]: Perhaps we could do it again, then?_

**_[Swan]: shouldn't you have waited like three whole days before calling back, Jones, you don't want to seem too eager_**

_[Killian Jones]: Technically, I am 'texting' back. So, coffee date at the Chipped Cup sometime next week?_

**_[Swan]: I am free tuesday morning_**

_[Killian Jones]: See you then, love x_

The little x he's put at the end of his message has Emma smiling stupidly as she stares at the screen. The way he texts, always careful with the punctuation and capitalization, is so adorable and so _him_. The fact that she is getting all gooey over his texting style should cause alarm bells to ring in her head, but it doesn't. So she responds to the text, reflecting the smile on her face to her text with a smiley face.

**_[Swan]: see you then :)_**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, so I thought a lot about the Graham/Regina pairing, because it was one I very much disliked on the show. But since I've delved into the area of odd pairings in this story before, and also since I really like Regina in general, I thought it might be interesting to explore this couple and how they'd work out in an AU. Still haven't decided if Regina will make an actual appearance, though.

Leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter.

Thanks to tnplh, Melly326, Guest, Csshipper1, Kaicchan, Mar and one more Guest for their lovely reviews, they make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Also, let's just establish that there'll always be two special thanks for this story and they'll go out to Sevval & Iris.

May we meet again.


	8. Interruptions

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!

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><p>Emma is still making as much time for her studies as ever, except nowadays she gets distracted a lot more easily. Her phone screen often lights up with texts from a certain man (Once he'd sent her a picture of a particularly angry swan chasing a man with the caption 'I don't remember having this photo taken on the night we met' and it'd made Emma laugh because <em>he is such a dork<em>), on Sunday night, he sent her a link without any explanation, which turned out to be a Spotify playlist titled _"Songs for the Lady Swan"_ and the songs it contained varied from hauntingly sad folk songs to upbeat country pieces and Emma hasn't listened to anything else for the last 24 hours, and even when he is letting her study in peace, Emma's mind drifts to thoughts of the aforementioned man. More often than not, she remembers the way they banter effortlessly and it puts a smile on her face. But there are other times when she simply thinks of cerulean blue eyes, disheveled dark hair and dimples.

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><p>The next morning comes, it's Tuesday, and Emma wakes up as soon as her alarm clock goes. It's 9 am, which means she has an hour until she has to meet Killian at the Chipped Cup for their date. She gets ready as if it's just another day –at least that's what she tells herself. So what if she's tried on three different tops until she decided on the simple white t-shirt she's wearing right now? Who's there to judge her when she applies that extra coat of lip gloss? A girl can pamper herself every now and then without it having to be about some guy, right?<p>

Thirty minutes later, she is throwing her leather jacket on as she is preparing to make her way out, and she looks beautiful in a laid back kind of way with her white t-shirt, dark jeans and knee high boots. To an outsider this seems to be an everyday look for Emma, but if Ruby were to see her right now, she'd call her out on the lip gloss and her "special pair of jeans" (They're the best pair of jeans Emma owns and they're reserved for special occasions only) right away, which is why Emma is thankful Ruby has decided to spend their morning without classes in bed.

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><p>Killian gets out of bed at 7 am, just because he can't get one more minute of sleep. The coffee date with Emma is making him nervous, which is very new to him; in all the years he's spent in college he's dated a string of women, but none had made him feel so nervous about a simple coffee date, nor had they made him go to lengths he's gone for Emma to make them happy. (He's made her a bloody playlist, for crying out loud). So he gets out of bed and decides to diffuse the restlessness he's feeling by going for a run.<p>

Even though it's the beginning of spring, it's still chilly outside, so he puts on a sweatshirt, plugs in his earphones and makes his way out of the apartment. The 45 minute run does calm his nerves a bit, and when he gets back, he has settled it in his mind that Emma must like him to have agreed to go out with him again in the first place, which means if he can manage to keep his nerves down and just be himself, he'll be just fine. He is a devilishly handsome man with a great sense of humor, after all, so what does he have to be nervous about, anyway?

The clock marks the next hour just as he arrives back at the apartment, which means two more hours until the date, and he is in need of a shower. August is lying on the living room couch, and he looks up when Killian enters, taking in his appearance.

"You went for a run?" August asks, even though it must be obvious from his sweatpants and from the way his hair is plastered with sweat against his forehead.

"Couldn't sleep," Killian explains.

"Wanna grab breakfast soon?" his flatmate offers.

"Nah mate, I have a date with Emma." Killian suppresses the grin that's threatening to appear on his lips.

"Really," August drawls with a glint in his eyes that should've alarmed Killian. "Where?"

"You know that coffee place a couple blocks from here? The Chipped Cup?"

"Oh, not that dull place again," August says scoffing.

"Well, I like it there, and Emma likes it there, so I don't see the problem," Killian says under his breath, clearly irritated. Turning around to leave he adds, "I'm gonna take a shower now."

He spends twenty minutes in the shower, washing his hair and his body twice, just to be sure, and humming an Irish folk tune under his breath. Getting out of the shower and drying his hair with a towel, he decides to go for a casual vibe, so he puts on a v neck white t-shirt, dark jeans and a pair of Chelsea boots. Throwing on his leather jacket, he makes his way out, just because he can't kill one more minute in the apartment.

Killian arrives at the coffee shop ten minutes early, so he goes in, ready to make himself comfortable in one of the armchairs as he waits for Emma, but a golden mane of hair catches his eye at one of the tables by the window as he is looking for a place to sit. Emma looks up when she hears his approaching footsteps and gives him a smile, that small smile he is hoping to see many more times. She stands up as he arrives at the table and it's an awkward couple of seconds because they aren't at the casual-good-morning-kisses stage of their relationship yet -if it even counts as one-, so Emma gives him a brief hug as she whispers, "Hey."

Killian answers with his own "Hi," as he sits down, checking to see if Emma's already ordered. (She hasn't.) He asks her what she'd like to have (Hot chocolate with cinnamon and a slice of apple pie), and makes his way to the counter to place their orders. Just then, the bell above the door jingles, marking the entrance of new customers. Emma doesn't bother to look, seeing she isn't expecting further company. So she is startled to hear Ruby clear her throat, looking down at her with an overly cheerful expression on her face.

"Ruby, what are you doing here," Emma asks, "I thought you were gonna stay in bed." The words tumble out of her mouth in a rush.

"August asked if I'd like to get breakfast at the last minute and I couldn't say no. He is over there by the counter placing our orders," she says, pointing nonchalantly at where Killian and August are standing. Killian has an irritated expression on his face, which Emma can't help but relate to.

"Oh, don't try to tell me this is a coincidence," Emma calls her friend out, "You don't even like this place, you keep telling me how dull it is."

"Okay, well, busted," Ruby puts her hands up, grinning. "August said you guys were going to be here, so we decided to crash your date. You would've never agreed to a double date otherwise and you know it." By then, Ruby has taken the seat opposite Emma.

"You're right, I wouldn't, which is why you shouldn't be here," Emma says irritably.

"Oh, come on, Ems," Ruby whines, "Where is the fun in dating the two hotties of the swim team, if we won't even get to double, huh?"

Emma rolls her eyes at her friend and is about to throw a comeback, but their conversation is cut short when the two men they were just talking about come back to the table with trays in their hands. Killian takes the seat next to Emma, which leaves Ruby's side open for August. Emma has a feeling Ruby planned for this seating arrangement, but doesn't voice her thoughts.

"Aw, did you guys coordinate your outfits on purpose?" Ruby says sweetly as Killian sits down.

Emma takes in Killian's outfit for a moment and realizes that they indeed went for the exact same look. She also takes in the way the v neck of Killian's shirt gives way to a dusting of chest hair and she quickly averts her gaze, trying not to get flustered. Since when does she find chest hair attractive, anyways?

"Oh, shut up," she mutters, glaring at her best friend as Killian chuckles next to her.

"You guys should get one of those couples' shirts that say 'he's mine' 'she's mine' for the next time you go out," August says and Ruby snickers.

"You might want to watch it mate," Killian drawls, "Or would you rather I told you about the one time in season four where Walter and Jesse…"

"Alright, alright," August interrupts him before he can spoil anything, putting his hands up in mock surrender. Killian grins smugly.

After they've gotten their second round of beverages, things start to turn into a competition of 'who can embarrass their friend more'. It all begins with August telling the story about the prank the team pulled on Killian when he first became captain as a sort of initiation ritual and Killian in turn telling the story about August going around, trying to convince people he was Pinocchio and his leg was turning into wood for an entire evening that one time he was wasted out of his mind.

It's apparently Emma's turn to be embarrassed, because a moment later Ruby speaks, smirking. "Hey, Killian, has Emma told you about that one time when she punched a guy in the nose at a bar because he wouldn't stop bothering her?"

She has, however, picked the wrong story, because that isn't something Emma feels she should be embarrassed about. "Well, it's not my fault he's made it to his twenties without learning that no means no," Emma says gruffly.

"It seems to me that you've let me off the hook quite easily the night we met, love, I guess you had a bit of a thing for me even back then," Killian says, waggling his eyebrows at her and grinning.

"Who says I've got a thing for you now?" Emma says challengingly, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, I do," Ruby interjects, "Don't think I haven't noticed the lip gloss." Emma notes from the corner of her eye that Killian is staring intently at her mouth, but pretends she doesn't.

"So, August," Emma says in a not-so-discreet attempt to change the subject, "Has Ruby told you about that time when she got so drunk that she passed out on our doorstep while looking for the keys and I found her there the next morning while I was taking out the trash?"

"Well, no," August says, "But I can see that happening." He looks over to Ruby teasingly, but the affection she can see underneath that look makes Emma smile to herself.

"Hey," Ruby protests, slapping August's arm playfully.

They banter good-naturedly and Emma realizes how well Ruby and August complement each other. They are both very good at throwing snarky comebacks, which makes it all the more amusing to watch them tease each other. They both have the tendency to party, but Emma can see that underneath his party boy persona, August is the kind of guy that would take care of Ruby if she had one too many to drink –he has done it before, when Emma thinks of it.

Killian glances at Emma from next to her, and he notices that she has long since abandoned the façade of looking irritated with her friend for crashing their date; she is now practically glowing with happiness. She glances back at him and gives him one more of her small smiles. Not that Killian's counting; it's just that every single one of those smiles is so _precious_, he can't help but feel as though he is being given a rare gift.

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><p>After a few hours filled with teasing and banter and embarrassing stories, they are all standing on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop.<p>

"I should get going soon, or I'll be late to my afternoon class," Emma says.

"Wanna skip yours and come watch me at the swim practice?" August asks turning to his girlfriend.

"Hell, yeah," Ruby answers grinning.

"Alright, let's give the lovebirds some privacy to say their goodbyes," August says as he drapes his arm around Ruby's shoulders and starts steering her away.

"Bye, guys," Ruby calls to Killian and Emma in a sing-song voice from above her shoulder.

Once Ruby and August are at a safe distance, Killian turns to Emma with a smile on his lips and says, "Well, love, this wasn't how I'd hoped for this morning to go, but I had fun nonetheless."

"Me, too," Emma admits, "But Ruby is still going to pay for this."

"I'll bet," Killian says, chuckling. His face takes on a playful expression as he takes one step closer to Emma and says, "So, do I get a goodbye kiss this time, too?"

"What do you think?" Emma teasingly arches an eyebrow at him. A moment later she steps into him, meaning to give him a peck on the lips, just as innocent as the previous one. And she does. Then she gives him another, and another. After the third one, Killian wraps one arm around her waist, the other coming up to caress the back of her head. Emma's hands are trapped in between them, resting on Killian's chest. They lose themselves in the kiss for a minute, and when they come up for air, Emma rests her forehead in the crook of Killian's neck and whispers against his skin, "Goodbye."

She takes a deep breath and extracts herself from Killian's arms, gives him one more of her smiles, that's the third one today and what the hell, he _is_ counting, and turns around to leave.

"Goodbye, Swan," she hears Killian respond in a low voice after a moment, making her duck her head in a shy smile.

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><p><strong>AN:** Will anything angsty ever happen in this fic or will I always write cute fluffy dates and warm fuzzy feelings? We may never know.

So, tell me one thing you did/didn't like about this chapter. Give me your favorite line. Give me anything, really. I do a Chandler Bing dancing routine around the house for every single review I get.

Thanks to somerholish, melly326, SkyStroller, csshipper1 and Yuri for their marvelous reviews, I felt about them as I feel about a litter full of kittens.

You know who the special thanks go out to.

Hope to see ya again.


	9. Home-cooked Meals & Mishaps

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

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><p>Weeks go by in a blur, Emma and Killian's relationship growing into one where they are absolutely comfortable around each other. The playful banter that has been there from the beginning is now accompanied by casual touches and playful kisses here and there. Killian always feels immeasurably delighted whenever Emma leans in to kiss his jaw after she's said something while they throw quips back and forth, that he is faking to be upset about. Emma flushes every time Killian reaches for her hand when they're walking side by side.<p>

After the impromptu double date at the Chipped Cup, it becomes a weekly thing for them to get coffee (or in Emma's case hot chocolate) on Tuesday mornings before Emma gets to her afternoon classes and Killian to his swim practice. He sometimes teases Emma about how she never comes to watch their swim practices.

"Everyone's girlfriend has come by at least once," he pouts, "Even Graham's came and she is older. She brought apple pie."

"Would you rather your _girlfriend_ comes to watch a dozen half-naked men swim," Emma asks innocently.

A jealous streak flashes across Killian's features, the exact reaction Emma was going for, and he kisses her fiercely, as if trying to remind her that the only man she should be thinking about is him. Not that Emma is having any difficulty in that department. They've been dating for three months now and haven't gone any further than the occasional make out sessions on the couch in Killian's apartment. It's not because Emma doesn't want to, she does, but she feels this is one of those times where they'd best take their time.

She opens up to him about her past on one of their coffee dates, telling him about the foster system, how she never stayed in one place for too long, how she ran away countless times, how her ex-boyfriend tried to frame her for his crimes and she had to spend several nights in custody before they arrested the jerk.

In turn Killian tells her how he dated up a storm all through freshman year and even some of sophomore, and only after a rather messy break-up in the middle of sophomore year did he give up the playboy persona. (The reputation still follows him anywhere he goes, he says.) Emma doesn't tell him about the time Graham warned her about that very reputation, not wanting to upset him any further.

In addition to their weekly coffee dates, Killian always surprises Emma with sweet gestures and unexpected date ideas, though she should have known better after the first date.

One time, a week after Emma giggles uncontrollably because Killian responded to one of her requests with "As you wish," he takes her to a screening of The Princess Bride. It's one of her favorite movies ever and it's incredibly sweet of him, and he insists he relates to Dread Pirate Roberts on a spiritual level (I told you I found the pirate thing appealing, he says).

On their two month anniversary (She didn't know that was a thing), he buys her a heart shaped silver pin, carefully pinning it to the sleeve of her shirt. (So you can wear _my_ heart on your sleeve for a change, he explains.) She feels bad because she didn't get him anything, so she tries to make up for it with kisses, planting them anywhere she can reach –his lips, his jaw, his temple.

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><p>Before long, it's finals week again. End of the finals week, to be exact. Emma has been cooped up in the suite studying whenever she isn't actually taking a test. She hasn't seen Killian since the exams started, and he has been really understanding, even supportive, of her determined attitude. He's texted her little encouragements every day they didn't see each other, giving her the support she didn't even realize she needed. So now, it's the night before her last, albeit very important, exam and she is crouched over her books, telling herself every twenty minutes that <em>this is the last one.<em>

It's seven in the evening, Ruby left almost an hour ago (Which is why she is using the living room table instead of her smaller one), saying she was going over to August's to study for their American History final together, so she is startled when there is a knock on the door. She gets up from her seat behind the desk, taking a moment to stretch her sore muscles, and makes her way to the door. Looking through the peephole, she is surprised to see Killian's face looking at the door patiently. She opens the door, and her surprise grows when she notices that Killian's holding two grocery bags in his arms. He is wearing a black and red flannel shirt and dark jeans, looking as handsome as ever.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Well, isn't it obvious," Killian says teasingly, "I've come over to cook you dinner."

"Don't you have an exam tomorrow?" Emma inquires once again.

"Nothing of the important sort, and not until noon," Killian says, giving her a small smile. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Oh, sorry," Emma giggles as she steps aside. "I just wasn't expecting you to show up. Kitchen's this way if you want to put those down."

Killian follows her through the suite and into the kitchen and sets the groceries down on the counter.

"I'll take it from here, love. You get back to your studies," he leans in and gives her a quick peck on the lips, and suddenly the domesticity of the situation hits Emma. Her boyfriend is going to cook her dinner. It makes her smile, and a second later she is taking Killian's face in both of her hands, kissing him properly.

"Let's see if you are as good as you claim to be," Emma teases before she turns around to leave.

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><p>Half an hour later, Killian walks into the living room with two glasses in his hands, motioning for Emma to take a break and join him on the couch. She obliges, sitting down and taking one of the glasses.<p>

"I brought red wine, hope it's okay," he tells her, still standing up.

"Yeah, it's perfect thank you," Emma smiles up to him from her place on the couch.

He puts his glass down on the coffee table and takes another trip to the kitchen, this time returning with two plates, sitting down next to her.

"Really," Emma raises an eyebrow when she is handed one of the plates, "All that bragging and you made pasta?"

Killian silently gestures for her to take a bite, so she wraps some of the spaghetti around her fork and carefully puts it into her mouth. After a moment, she closes her eyes, throws her head back and lets out a guttural moan, making Killian chuckle.

"Yeah, okay, I take it back, _what is this?_" Emma asks as she ungracefully shovels another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

"It's my very special Spaghetti Bolognese," he explains happily.

"Well, it is as good as you've been advertising forever," she admits, "Yet it just makes me angry that you made me go three months without it."

"You know what they say, love, good things come to those who wait."

"That's the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard," Emma says. "Nothing good comes to you if you just wait around, you have to take it."

"Quite passionate, aren't you," Killian chuckles.

"Well, I've been called worse," Emma retorts and they settle into a comfortable silence, both busy with enjoying their food.

After Killian takes the plates back to the kitchen, he comes back with the bottle of red wine in his hand. Emma's tucked her legs under herself on the couch, supporting the glass of wine in one hand that's almost empty. He settles next to Emma on the couch and fills their glasses.

"So," Emma speaks, "What made you come all the way here just to cook me dinner?"

"Well, Ruby came over half an hour before I left," he starts to explain.

"Yeah," Emma interjects, "She and August were going to study for their American History final." When Killian raises his eyebrows at her she adds laughingly, "Or not."

"Anyway," he says, chuckling, "I thought I'd come over and save you before you poison yourself with decade old takeout."

Her mind immediately drifts to the three-day-old Chinese takeout in the fridge that she was thinking about reheating for dinner, and she marvels at how well he knows him.

"Thank you," she says, directing a soft smile at him.

"Well, perhaps gratitude is in order now," he says teasingly as he leans towards her just a little bit and taps his index finger against his lips.

"It was only pasta, Jones," she says feigning disinterest, trying to suppress a smirk. He sees right through it when she leans in as well, the distance between them getting smaller by the second.

"It was Spaghetti Bolognese, and it was very good," Killian corrects, his voice taking a husky tone. At this point, they are so close that Emma is enveloped in Killian's scent, the mix of musky cologne, sweat and underneath it all, something that is distinctly Killian.

A moment later their lips meet. It is hard to tell who makes the first move; it's probably a mutual effort. Emma can taste the red wine they've both been drinking in the kiss, and it makes her sigh against Killian's mouth. Before they can get too caught up in the kiss, Emma draws back a little bit, taking the wine glass from Killian's hand and setting both their glasses on the coffee table so that they don't make a mess, letting out a shaky breath as she does so.

When she comes back, she unceremoniously settles on Killian's lap, her knees on the couch at either side of his thighs. She runs her hands through his raven hair (which is unbelievably soft as always) and lowers her lips to his. The kiss starts out really soft, with Emma nibbling at Killian's lower lip, but quickly turns into something more when she licks along his lips and he grants her the entry she's asking for. Their tongues tangle in a dance of passion, both taking something from the other and giving so much more in return. Her hands are on his shoulders, looking for much needed support while his run up and down the sides of her body. When the need to come up for air becomes impossible to ignore, Emma starts trailing kisses down his jaw to his neck, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of his shirt as she does so. She only manages to get two open before Killian captures her face in both his hands, effectively pulling her gaze to his.

"Are you sure you want this, Swan," he asks, ever the gentleman.

"Why, you don't?" Emma says, her voice sounding so incredibly husky that it startles her.

"I've wanted this ever since I saw you at that bar," he whispers.

"Good," she manages to get out before she is kissing him again, and soon they're heat, passion and a tangle of limbs. It isn't perfect; her shirt gets stuck at some point and one of his boots gives him a hard time as he tries to untie them, but Killian is a considerate lover, just like she thought he'd be and she is utterly spent and sated as she lies on the couch with him afterwards, her head on his chest.

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><p>Emma wakes up to the sun aggressively shining right into her eyes. As she takes in her surroundings, she realizes that she is neither in her bed, nor alone. She is instead lying on the living room couch, partly on top of Killian due to lack of space, with her head tucked under his chin and his arm draped across her waist. For a moment, she takes in Killian's sleeping figure, marveling at his incredibly long eyelashes and the innocence of his face, and remembering the events of the previous night, simply basks in the bliss she is feeling. That is until it registers that it's the morning, meaning they slept through the entire night. She jolts upright in an instant, reaching for her phone. A string of curses leave her mouth when she sees that it's twenty minutes past nine –she is already twenty minutes late to her exam. Killian groggily opens his eyes, having woken up due to the sounds Emma's making.<p>

"What's the matter, love," he calls out as he sits up, his voice rattled from sleep.

"I am so fucking late, that's the matter," she bites out as she pulls on her jeans. "You can show yourself out."

With that she dashes out the door, muttering to herself about how she should have known better than to drink those two glasses of wine knowing it makes her sleepy _every fucking time._

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><p>Later that day, Emma strides past the pool and the stands towards where she guesses the locker rooms are with purposeful steps, storming inside without any warning. Inside there are almost a dozen men in various stages of undress. Conversation ceases with her abrupt entry as all turn around to look at her, obviously startled by the female presence in the men's locker room. She recognizes some of them from Killian's prior introductions, though she is too distracted to put names on the faces.<p>

"KILLIAN JONES," she calls out and Killian appears from behind one of the lockers with a towel wrapped around his hips, surprise evident on his face.

"Is something the matter, love?" he asks, searching her face for something that might clue him in about what's angered her so much.

"I failed the test," she grits her teeth, "I was 35 minutes late and I was so flustered the rest of the time that I didn't even get half the questions right. Do you know when the last time I failed a test was?"

Killian shakes his head infinitesimally, worried that he'll aggravate Emma further if he so much as moves the wrong way.

"That's because it was a trick question, Killian. And the answer is NEVER." She shouts, her voice growing louder by the second. "I have NEVER failed a test in my entire life. Then you come along, and I fail."

Killian watches the anger drain from her face and be replaced by exhaustion and sadness. "I can't afford to fail, Killian," she says, her voice breaking.

"Emma, what are you saying?" Killian asks, his accent thickening with emotion.

"I am saying," she says, her voice barely audible, "I am saying that I- I can't afford to keep doing whatever it is we're doing."

Emma juts her chin and turns around when she feels the tears starting to pool in her eyes, not wanting to make things more difficult than they already are. She strides out the locker room, her steps a lot less confident than when she was striding in and doesn't look back when Killian calls after her.

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><p><strong>AN:** So… this happened.

I realize that it took me longer than usual to upload. This chapter was very hard to write.

Favorite lines? One thing you did/didn't like? Leave a review and let me know!

Thanks to melly326, CaptainHook3, paupaupi, buildabear4you, iswearonkillianjones, SkyStroller and haadmho2000 for their reviews. They made me feel like a four year old in a candy shop.

Special thanks go out to who they always go out to.

May we meet again.


	10. Certain Revelations & Uh-oh

**A/N:** I know I said on tumblr that the new chapter would be here on the weekend, but what can I say, I lied.

We are nearing the end of the story. Thanks to everyone who was along for the ride.

Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

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><p>As Emma walks out of the locker room, she half expects Killian to be hot on her heels, trying to talk some sense into her –except he isn't. Every limb in her body stretches in the opposite direction as she moves away from him, willing her to for once stay and face the consequences. Because when it comes down to fight or flight, Emma has always chosen flight without a second glance back. Yet she can feel it deep in her bones that this time is different to all those times she up and left –this time, perhaps for the first time ever, she has something to lose. Boy, does she have something to lose. Killian had been nothing but sweet, considerate and, dare she say, loving towards her, and it was such a welcome change of pace, seeing all she'd got out of her previous relationships was heartbreak or indifference at best.<p>

What makes what's she's just done unbearable for her is that she _knows_ Killian isn't at fault here. It was all her doing. She was the one to drink wine, knowing it'd make her sleepy and she was the one to get too caught up to set a damn alarm clock. Lastly, she was the one to initiate what happened between them last night, yet she can't find it in herself to regret the last one. She _knows _that Killian would have left after dinner without a trace of resentment if she'd asked him to. She knows it just like she knows she's taken out all her frustration with herself out on him, when all he'd ever been was supportive and kind and sweet.

She wishes she'd turn around, stride back into the locker room, take his face between her hands and kiss every inch of it, trying to cleanse it from all the bitter words she'd sent his way merely minutes ago. Every cell in her body _screams_ at her to do just that. Even the goddamn neurons in her brain remind her that with every step she's taking away from him, she is becoming more of a coward and an unreasonable person.

Yet she doesn't turn around.

She doesn't turn around. She doesn't even risk a glance back. She _is_ being a coward and an unreasonable person.

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><p>Killian feels dumbstruck more than anything else. Emma was maybe in and out within three minutes, telling him she can't be with him anymore. To be fair, he was expecting her to be angry or frustrated. But this –this is so extreme that he doesn't even know how to begin to deal with it. Especially not after he's spent the entire morning thinking back to the night before, still feeling the way her hair tickled his chest or the way her skin tasted of a mixture of salt and vanilla, and smiling to himself, causing August to hit him with his towel and accuse him of being <em>whipped<em>. (Not that August is doing any better in that department, he is seen him with Ruby enough to know that he isn't.)

He isn't afraid of the way he feels about her, nor is he in the business of denying it. He's known for some time that what he feels for Emma goes way beyond a simple infatuation, yet he'd kept the words at bay more for her sake than his own, allowing her the time to develop the same feelings organically, rather than out of any obligation to him. It had been especially trying the previous night during the afterglow to keep himself from whispering it against her skin as he was murmuring all sorts of sweet nothings into her ear. He somehow managed, yet all he feels now is regret, thinking it might have been his last chance ever to tell her.

As Emma strides away from him looking shaken, all he wants to do is run after her, grab her by the elbow just to spin her around and kiss some sense into her –except he knows better. He knows he should give Emma her space, space to cool off and make sense of the situation herself. So he does. He gives her an entire day before he becomes too restless to just wait around, so he texts her. She doesn't respond.

* * *

><p>When her phone screen lights up, she knows that it's Killian. Not a very wild guess to make, really. His texts had become such a daily occurrence in her life, that she's missed it in the last two days.<p>

She picks up her phone and the text is indeed from Killian. It simply says, "Hey, can we talk?" She ignores it, partly out of shame, because she is the one to mess things up and he is still trying to fix them, and partly because she isn't ready to face him just yet.

Ruby recognizes the change in her mood almost immediately, but she doesn't comment on it right away. Because even if Emma wasn't aware, with every day she spent with Killian, her entire demeanor had slowly, but surely changed –her smile brighter and her stance more relaxed and easy. So it's not very hard for Ruby to pick up on it when she comes home one day with sagged shoulders and head hung low. With the finals over, Emma doesn't have anything to busy herself with, so she is left to constantly think about her actions and their consequences.

She guesses Ruby knows the cause behind her current state, August most likely filled her in, though it wouldn't be too hard for her to guess on her own. She, too, must have decided to give her some space, and it aggravates Emma that everyone's being so incredibly understanding, when she so majestically fucked up.

* * *

><p>After two more days of incessant brooding on Emma's part and an unexpected radio silence on Killian's, there is a knock on the suite's door. Ruby goes to open it, knowing Emma is spending too much of her energy on brooding to actually get up from her bed and open the door. Emma hears the familiar lilting voice biding her friend a good evening from her room, which makes something ache in her chest and at the same time makes her untangle herself from the blankets and leap out of her bed in a heartbeat.<p>

She peeks from her door down the corridor to see Ruby hasn't invited Killian in yet.

"May I speak with Emma?" she hears Killian ask and there is a desperate edge to his voice that makes Emma want to beat herself up for being so stupid, stupid, stupid. Ruby casts a glance her way, obviously asking her permission and she vigorously shakes her head no.

"I'm sorry, Killian," Ruby says in a regretful voice, "Emma's not home."

"Oh," Killian breathes out and Emma can _see _his face fall even though she really can't, and she really wants to go out there and leap into his arms and never _ever_ let him go. But as she fidgets at her doorway with indecision, she hears Killian bid his farewell to Ruby and then hears the soft thud indicating the door being closed after him. Emma retreats to her room in defeat, feeling like she lost a battle she hadn't even had the courage to fight in.

A few minutes later, Ruby approaches her with feline-like steps, searching her friend's face for something that'll tell her how she should be handling this situation. She simply sits down by her on the bed and crushes Emma into her, stroking her hair in a calming gesture, rocking her back and forth as she always does when she knows Emma is dealing with something difficult. Except this time it's so much bigger than anything Ruby has ever witnessed and she is at a loss as to what else she could possibly do to comfort her friend.

"Emma, I've known you for some time now," Ruby says cautiously after a few minutes, "and I know that you always try to find the logical solution to everything. So imagine my surprise when you go and act so stupid."

Emma lets out a humorless chuckle at her friend's words and ducks her head, but doesn't respond with anything else.

Unfazed by the lack of reaction Ruby presses on, "I've seen how you guys are around each other; it's obvious you care very deeply for him. So why are you making this so hard?"

Emma appreciates her friend's purposeful avoidance of a certain L-word, but doesn't comment on it. In the past three months she and Killian have (had?) been dating, she has come to acknowledge that she indeed cares very deeply for him, and not because of the sweet gestures and the moral support he's been providing and the delicious food he has to offer, but simply because it's _him_ –all dorky smiles, suggestive remarks and an eyebrow game with baffling strength. However, she isn't ready to throw in the L-word yet.

"I don't know, Rubs, I fucked up," she answers, looking down at her feet, "I just –I don't know what I could do or say that's going to make it all better." Her voice sounds tired and croaked, since she hasn't talked much in the last couple of days, if at all.

"Emma," Ruby says gently, "You are both miserable without each other. I don't think Killian expects a long winded apology. All you have to do is go to him."

This makes Emma look up at her friend with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"You think so?" she asks, her voice barely a whisper.

"I know so," Ruby says with an encouraging smile on her face. "Now go get him!"

Emma decides that Ruby is right, that she should go to him and they can figure the rest of it out from there. There is suddenly a new pep in Emma's step as she moves around the suite to find her boots and put on her jacket. (She decides to forego putting on pants and just go out in her sweatpants, because at this point, who cares?)

After a good five minutes of rushing around nervously and tripping over her own feet at her haste, she is about to go out the door when Ruby calls out to her.

"Emma, you forgot your phone and it's ringing."

They meet in the middle of the living room with Ruby holding out her phone to her. She takes it and goes to answer it after seeing it's an unknown number.

"Could I speak to Emma Swan?" a gentle female voice asks from the other side of the line.

A feeling of dread suddenly settles deep in her stomach as she answers with, "This is she."

"I am calling from the General Hospital," the woman explains and Emma's stomach plummets to the ground. "You were listed as Killian Jones' emergency contact and he's been in an accident, he was just brought in."

Blood rushes to Emma's head, making it hard for her to stand up or see an inch before her, yet she is determined to find out more about Killian's condition.

"How is he?" she manages to breathe out.

"You'd get detailed explanation from the doctors if you could just come up here?" the woman says questioningly.

"I'm on my way," Emma says as she hangs up.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Ruby asks as soon as she hangs up, towering over her with concerned eyes.

"Killian. Accident. Gotta go." is all she manages to get out, and all she has to.

A moment later, Ruby is gathering her own coat from the coat rack and following her to the car.

While they make their way to the hospital (Emma insist that she drive, needing to grasp at any scrap of reality she can get,) Ruby calls August to let him know. It's a painful conversation to listen to, because it makes this thing all too real, it makes the fact that Killian's in a hospital right now, God knows in what condition, all too real.

* * *

><p>After a fifteen minute drive, that feels much longer than it is, Emma parks the car at the hospital's parking lot and then she is sprinting into the building, rushing towards the counter. A middle aged woman looks up at her from behind it as she approaches.<p>

"I –I got a call. My boyf –Killian Jones, was brought in here. Where is he?"

The woman looks at her with compassion in her eyes and pointing over to the waiting area she says, "If you could just sit over there, Dr. Bailey will be over shortly to brief you."

Not knowing what else she could do, Emma nods and moves towards the waiting area with Ruby right by her side. She sits down on one of the chairs and tucks her legs under herself. Sitting on the one right next to her, Ruby envelopes her in a crushing hug.

"He'll be fine," she whispers into her hair, "You'll both be fine."

At that moment, August comes in and approaches them in a few long strides.

"Have you heard anything yet?" he asks, trying to sound strong but it is obvious to both girls that he is deeply shaken.

"We are waiting for the doctor," Ruby replies in a low voice.

August sits down next to Ruby and she extracts one of her arms from around Emma to take her boyfriend's hand and squeeze it in what she hopes is a calming manner. Ruby realizes that she has been unceremoniously handed the task of anchoring both her best friend and boyfriend, yet she is straying away from shore herself and she has no clue how she'll handle it all if anything happens to Killian.

A woman in blue scrubs with a bob cut and a kind face approaches them, and they all scramble to their feet.

"I'm Doctor Bailey," she says, "Mr. Jones was brought in after his motorcycle was hit by a truck driver. He got dragged by it for almost a hundred yards so his left hand was severely injured. He also has a broken rib and a lot of bruising in several parts of his body. We will be observing him closely throughout the night and might have to keep him here for longer, but I think he'll be alright."

Emma lets out a shaky breath at the news, the frozen shock she'd been feeling melting into sorrow and fear –fear that he won't make it, despite the assurances of the doctor. That's when she feels the tears fall for the first time that night, and it's August who envelopes her in his arms this time. She hears him mutter about how Killian will never be borrowing his bike again once he is out of here, and it coaxes a watery smile out of her.

* * *

><p>After an hour of sitting around (pacing on August's part) in the waiting room, Dr. Bailey comes back again, saying they can see Killian if they'd like, though he is still unconscious. August and Ruby tell Emma to go ahead, saying they'll come after they get coffee, though Emma knows they're letting her have time alone with him, for which she is eternally grateful.<p>

She walks into the room Dr. Bailey told her that Killian is staying, and the sight of him knocks the wind out of her. He is lying unconscious in bed with bandages peeking out from the neck of the hospital gown he's wearing. There is a gash on his cheek, which will most likely leave a scar, and bandages around his left forearm almost up to his elbow. He looks bruised, battered and exhausted even in his sleeping state. But what matters is that he is _here_, and alive. So she sits down on the plastic chair by his bedside and gingerly takes his right hand between her hands.

Emma had always thought it to be a cliché strictly reserved for novels and romance movies. Yet at that moment, sitting by Killian's bedside and looking at his sleeping form, something shifts within her. The sense of clarity that follows hits her like a ton of bricks as she realizes that _she is in love with Killian Jones_, and she has been for an indeterminable amount of time. Now, if only he would allow her the opportunity to tell him so.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Okay, has this fic turned into a one big cliché or what?

As per usual, give me your favorite lines. Give me one thing you did/didn't like. Give me anything. Leave a review.

A massive, ginormous thanks to Csshipper1, captain-k-jones, melly326, SkyStroller, somerholish and Devster for their reviews. You are all lovely people and I want to give bear hugs to each and every single one of you!

Hope to see ya again.


	11. Happy Endings

**A/N:** Here's the last chapter. This was a fun story for me to write during my very much extended winter break. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

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><p>They say the first night in the hospital is always the hardest. Or is that in prison? Emma would know either way.<p>

Her first night in prison (luckily first of very few) was spent in desperation, thinking this was how it was going to be for her for at least several years.

Her first night in the hospital by Killian's bedside is spent in fear, thinking what happens in the span of this one night could either make or break her. After the epiphany she's had regarding her feelings about Killian, she is anxious to let him know, in hopes that he will forgive her for ruining things in the first place, and also that he feels the same way.

* * *

><p>Emma is still sitting by Killian's bed, holding his right hand between both her hands when Ruby and August enter the room. Ruby passes Emma a paper cup which contains terrible vending machine coffee, and Emma gratefully disentangles one of her hands from Killian's to take it. Her other hand is still grasping Killian's as though it is her lifeline. And in a sense it is. She needs the reaffirmation it provides with its warmth –reaffirmation that Killian's here and alive. Emma feels without it she would suffocate, so she is hanging on to it, even though it is hard to maneuver the hot cup of coffee with only one hand.<p>

August stands at the foot of Killian's bed, looking down at his best friend as relief floods through him at the sight. Yes, it isn't the best condition he's been in, but despite the cut on his cheek and an abundance of bandages, he is alive. He will be up and cracking jokes in no time.

"Hey buddy," August speaks to Killian, though he won't answer, it is probably more for his sake than Killian's, anyway. "I just want to let you know that you are never even going near my bike again. Ever."

* * *

><p>It's still relatively early in the night, so Ruby and August hang around for a couple of hours, trying to crack a few jokes every now and then to lighten Emma's mood. She appreciates it, yet she feels she can't even breathe properly, let alone laugh as long as Killian is lying unconscious and looking barely alive.<p>

She reminds herself over and over that the doctor said there is no real threat to Killian's life and eventually he will heal completely. It would be a lot easier to believe that if Killian were awake, laughing along to Ruby and August's silly banter.

* * *

><p>Killian fights for consciousness as he hears a male voice talk to him about a bike. He sounds familiar, yet he can't place him in his dazed state. He tries to open his eyes to see who it is, but he can't do that either.<p>

He is vaguely aware of his surroundings, enough to realize he is lying in a bed. Enough to realize that there is something (someone?) cold touching his right hand. There is an unfamiliar prickling sensation in his left hand and a burning feeling in his chest.

Before he can dwell on any of these things he slips back into unconsciousness.

The next time he comes close to the surface, he hears a female voice talking about meds and blood pressure (a nurse?), and another making quiet sounds of approval and acknowledgement. The feeling of flesh covering his right hand is still there, though it isn't cold anymore.

He sees flashes of blonde hair and emerald eyes.

He is gone once more.

The third time he nears consciousness, he feels something tickling his right arm. It is a pleasant sensation and is somehow familiar.

He wills himself to open his eyes and succeeds in doing so for the first time. He blinks furiously as he tries to take in his surroundings and realizes that the tickling feeling is caused by a mane of golden hair sprawled against his forearm.

Everything that's happened in the last few days comes crashing back to him. The argument, Emma not answering his texts, going over to her place driving August's motorcycle, Emma not coming to the door, him turning back, defeated, and lastly the sound of a horn blaring moments before everything went black.

Emma had made it clear she was done. Yet she is here now, holding his hand in both of hers, her forehead resting against their joined hands.

It must be late at night, or very early in the morning, because the room is almost dark, the only light coming from the street lamps outside.

"Emma," he tries to call out, but it comes out a croaked whisper.

Emma still stirs at the sound of his voice, looking up at him with bleary eyes. When it registers that it was Killian's voice that woke her and she is staring into his now open eyes, she jolts up, straightening in her chair.

Killian tries to speak once more, but his face contorts in obvious pain so Emma hushes him and scrambles for the glass of water on his nightstand, putting a straw in it and passing it to him.

"Killian," Emma says, looking straight at him in spite of the dimly lit room, drinking in the bottomless ocean that is his eyes. "I am sorry about the way I acted. It was stupid, and I blamed you when you did nothing wrong."

"It's okay, love," Killian says with a crooked smile on his face, having gained his voice back a little after the glass of water.

"No, Killian, please let me finish," Emma insists, "Ever since I started college, I was so intent on achieving my goal that I didn't for once stop to look around. Chalked out everything as an unnecessary distraction. Then you came along. Yes, it was unexpected, but you were the best distraction I didn't even know I needed. I know I said I couldn't afford to do whatever it was we were doing, but what I can't afford to do is spend another day without you. Will you be able to forgive me?"

By the time she's finished, Emma's eyes are glistening with unshed tears. She knew that to make up for what she's put Killian through in the past couple of days, she'd have to lay her hand open. Well, almost. She still hasn't told him what she feels for him in those three little words, yet she feels that is not a conversation to have in a hospital room at three am.

"Promise me you will never shut me out like that again?" Killian asks, his voice laced with vulnerability.

"I promise," Emma says with a solemn expression on her face, cursing herself for ever giving him a reason to doubt her.

"Then you should know I forgave you the moment I woke up to the feeling of your hair tickling my arm," Killian says with a soft smile on his face.

Emma giggles at his words then abruptly lunges forward, colliding into Killian in an ungraceful manner. It makes him hiss quietly, and Emma remembers his bruised state. Putting distance between their bodies, she mumbles an apology. Killian is not having any of it though. He carefully molds her body into his, so that they can be as close as possible without him wanting to double over in pain. When he seems satisfied with their proximity, Emma leans forward, capturing Killian's lips in a needy kiss –one that expresses longing, desperation and promise. It appears, he feels as she does, because a moment later he is licking at the seams of her lips and she grants him entry without a moment's hesitation. She tilts her head to the side to deepen the kiss, putting one hand tentatively on his unscarred cheek. They're both aware that this is as far as they'll be going, given that they're in a hospital bed, and they are content with kissing each other for all eternity, pouring the declarations they can not yet verbalize into the kiss.

* * *

><p>In the morning, the nurse finds them in bed together, Emma's head nestled in the crook of Killian's neck with her right arm lightly thrown around his middle. She clears her throat in hopes that they'll wake, and Emma indeed stirs a moment later. Killian is a different story altogether, the pain medicine making him a heavy sleeper, more so than he normally is. Emma scrambles off the bed, looking at the nurse apologetically. The nurse, in turn, smiles softly at her.<p>

"I'll just change his bandages, so you might want to wake him up," she says.

Emma goes to stand by Killian's bed, stroking the hair that falls on his forehead while speaking softly, "Killian, baby, you need to wake up."

She marvels at the pet name that has escaped her mouth without her realizing. It feels good to be affectionate with him on this entirely new level, a new appreciation filling her at this now very much welcomed intimacy.

Killian slowly opens his eyes, blinking up at her drowsily.

"The nurse is going to change your bandages," she answers his silent inquiry.

"There was serious damage to the arm caused by the accident, you might want to leave the room or turn around," the nurse warns Emma.

"I'll stay," she says curtly.

"Swan," Killian says with a pleading undertone.

"I'll stay," Emma repeats, taking his right hand in hers.

* * *

><p>Killian ends up staying in the hospital for an entire week. Doctor Bailey concludes that there won't be any lasting damage to his hand, except for a pretty impressive scar that'll adorn his wrist. You were lucky, she says, you could have lost your hand.<p>

In the entire week Killian is in the hospital, Emma leaves him only once, going home for a couple of hours to take a shower and rushing back to his side as soon as she is done.

He sleeps a lot –a result of the strong pain medicine he is being prescribed. When he isn't sleeping, Emma sits on the bed next to him, quietly talking to him while absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair. She still needs the validation that he is not going anywhere.

Ruby and August stop by every day at lunch time with takeout, since the hospital food is simply inedible. They notice the uplift in Emma's mood the first day they come back, and share knowing smiles while the now happy couple obliviously banters over who gets the extra dumpling.

The boys from the swim team, exactly twelve of them, drop by on the fourth day. Graham sits close to Emma in the overcrowded room and rests his hand on her shoulder (It makes Killian growl quietly into Emma's ear afterwards when they're alone in the room about how Graham better keep his distance.) (She laughs and kisses him.) They get kicked out by a grumbling Doctor Bailey after twenty minutes, but Killian appreciates their visit all the same.

* * *

><p>When it's time for Killian to finally go home, August comes with the intent of driving him home. Emma has other plans.<p>

"I was thinking, maybe I could drive him? Help him settle in?" she says to August, looking up to him with innocent eyes.

"I won't want to be around for that, will I?" August grumbles. "I've been witnessing the sexual tension grow for an entire week, it's a mystery how you managed not to do it right on that bed."

"Who says we haven't?" Killian answers with a waggle of his eyebrows.

He expects Emma to turn beet red or at least slap him on the arm, but all she does is grin at August and it makes an unexpected wave of affection and heat flood right through him.

The ride home in Emma's beetle is filled with anticipation on both parts. Killian can't exactly pinpoint the moment his hand landed on Emma's thigh but it stays there for the entirety of the ride and Emma can feel the heat spreading through her entire body from where Killian is touching her.

The heat between them isn't one that flares up violently and obliterates everything in its wake. It is a slow burn, simmering quietly under the surface, that molds them into something else entirely, something better.

They arrive at Killian's apartment after a fifteen minute drive and Emma drapes her arm around Killian's waist against his protests and assurances that he can carry his weight up the stairs just fine.

When they enter the apartment, Emma asks him if he'd like something to eat, when he should be the one to offer, seeing it's his apartment. However, Emma seems intent on taking care of him and he decides he'll enjoy the attention of the woman he loves. So he shakes his head no; he isn't hungry.

"I'll unpack your stuff," she says, "But only because you have one functioning hand at the moment. Don't expect this to become a thing."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Killian says as he smilingly follows her into his bedroom.

She places the duffel bag August had brought to the hospital for Killian on the bed and starts to sort the clean and dirty clothes. Killian sits on the bed, propping his back against the headboard. After a couple of minutes, she suddenly turns around to look at him, who is intently watching her every move with a smile on his face.

"Killian, I have to tell you something," she says hesitantly as she moves towards the bed.

"That's never good," Killian replies, scrunching up his nose.

"This one is," Emma says, sounding unsure, "I hope."

"I am all ears, love," he responds with interest in his eyes.

Emma sits on the bed beside Killian.

"In the days we'd been apart I thought a lot about us. Then when I saw you at the hospital, everything fell into perspective for me," she says, looking into his eyes to gauge his reaction. He is looking at her with anticipation. "Killian Jones, I am in love with you."

"Oh God, Emma," Killian says, breathing out the air he hadn't realized he was holding in, and reaches for her to crash her against his side. "I love you too, so much. I never wish to be parted from you as long as you'll have me."

"Good," is Emma's only response as she nestles further into Killian's side, sighing with contentment.

Suddenly he pulls back, looking at her mischievously.

"It's very convenient that you chose to have this conversation in my bedroom," he teases.

Before Emma can come up with a clever response, Killian's lips are on hers, kissing her slowly as his right hand comes up to first caress her cheek and then tangle in her hair.

The kiss is anything but urgent, both of them taking the time to enjoy this moment of intimacy they've found as thoroughly as they can. Just as the simmering heat between them, the kiss slowly but surely evolves into something more.

Killian gingerly turns them over (His injuries are much better but not yet completely healed), and starts peppering Emma's neck and collarbone with open mouthed kisses. She in turn tangles both her hands in his hair and tugs a little, eliciting a moan from the back of his throat.

When Emma's shirt keeps getting in his way, Killian tugs at the hem of it and she raises her arms to let him take it off. However, taking a shirt off using only one hand proves to be a struggle for him, so Emma ends up laughingly helping him.

To even their states of undress, Emma makes quick work of taking Killian's shirt off. She kisses a line just above the bandages on his ribs and it makes him shiver.

"I am sorry, Killian," she whispers against his chest. "If I had answered the door…"

"No, Swan, I am not letting you blame yourself for the accident," Killian says with finality in his tone, tilting her chin up with his index finger to look into her eyes.

"We may not have taken the easy path," he continues after planting a kiss on her lips, "But it led me to you and that's all that matters."

Emma doesn't have an appropriate answer for the wonderful, wonderful man before her and all she can think is what she's done to deserve him, so she kisses him instead. She kisses him and pours all her love in the kiss. She kisses him to let him know he is her moon and stars, he is the salty ocean breeze she didn't know she craved.

He kisses her back with as much fervor. He kisses him to tell her everything dims in comparison to the light she's brought into his life; she is the sun, _his_ sun.

They explore each other's bodies as though it is their first time; and in a way it is. Everything feels different under the light of their declarations –another thing Emma deemed a cliché worthy of romance novels.

* * *

><p>Later, when they're lying in bed together bundled up under the comforter, Emma looks up to Killian and punctuates each word with a little kiss as she says, "Best. Distraction. Ever."<p>

-Fin-

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><p><strong>AN:** I might be persuaded to write an epilogue for this, if you are interested in reading that. So let me know in the reviews!

For the last time, leave a review. Tell me your favorite lines. Tell me anything.

Thanks to Devster, melly326, Csshipper1, captain-k-jones, haadmho2000, thefishbelly, tnplh, Guest and another Guest for their reviews on the last chapter. You are all amazing human beings and I love you.

My last words regarding this story are the following:

**Thank you, thank you, thank you.**


	12. Epilogue

**A/N:** You guys really wanted this epilogue and who am I to deny you?  
>Here, have this very last, very little bit of UD.<p>

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><p>It's been a month since Killian has been discharged from the hospital, a month, during which Emma spent at least three out of four nights at Killian's apartment. She is so incandescently happy that she doesn't mind one bit when August teases them about how he is having a hard time getting any sleep.<p>

They are all standing around the kitchen counter one morning with Emma pouring them coffee when he brings it up.

"I don't know what it is you get up to in that room every night that involves so much name-calling and praying to God, but it is interfering with my beauty sleep," he says, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Consider it payback for all the nights you and Ruby were overly vocal, mate," Killian deadpans, clapping him on the shoulder, "It is a miracle I managed to retain my youthful glow."

Emma giggles at her boyfriend's words and shrugs her shoulders when both guys' gazes land on her.

Of all the time she's spent in this very apartment in the last four weeks, her favorite are the nights that Ruby comes by as well.

Those nights are spent with the boys cooking dinner, followed by a lot of drinking, sharing stories and joking around, and mostly ending with one couple or the other retiring to their room with things other than sleep in their minds.

August's cooking is almost as good as Killian's (almost being a key word here, as Killian likes to point out) so the girls are well fed here, and they appreciate it, having been condemned to week-old takeouts in their own place for years before these guys came sauntering into their lives.

The drinking starts out very light, a glass of wine with dinner, but it is soon shots after shots of tequila and everyone's teetering at the edge of drunkenness. Ruby is almost always the first to fall over, slurring her words and getting overly affectionate with her boyfriend, which leads to them eventually taking things into a more private environment, hence the end to their night.

Even Graham and Regina join in to their nights of fun sometimes and Ruby and Emma are pleasantly surprised to find out that Regina isn't half as rigid and distant as she seems at first glance. In fact, with a couple shots of tequila in her, she is incredibly fun to be around with her sassy remarks and smart comebacks.

Emma realizes that this is a very easy routine to fall into –spending time with the people she cares about the most, surrounding herself with this make-shift family she's found for herself after years and years of searching.

* * *

><p>When he looks back to the past month, all Killian can see is the bright light that surrounds every waking moment –the light that emanates from Emma. More often than not, he wakes up to her in his arms, her hair fanning across his pillows (actually, <em>her<em> pillow by now) and it is a sight he knows he will never tire of.

The nights spent with both their friends seems like a blessing to him, seeing her so happy without a care in the world making his chest expand by miles.

What he cherishes the most, however, is the times he has her all to himself (It's during one of those quite times in bed that he realizes Emma is ticklish), whether to bury his face in her neck and murmur his love against her hair, or to map every inch of her skin, every scar, every freckle, with his hands (both of them, now that his left hand is free of bandages), his teeth and his tongue.

* * *

><p>It's been a month since Killian has been discharged from the hospital and his injuries are almost completely healed. After getting the A-Okay from Dr. Bailey, he can finally get back to the swim team and reclaim his position as the team captain that was given to Victor in his absence.<p>

Spending a month without getting into the pool had been hard on Killian, missing the excitement of a race and the feeling of serenity that surrounds him when he does laps in the pool after everyone's gone home. Returning to the team feels like getting a part of him back, that's why this is a pretty big day for him.

"An occasion this special calls for a party," Ruby says to Emma a few days prior to Killian's first swim practice since the accident.

Emma's first instinct is to say no, seeing how much she hates parties, but then she thinks what Killian's reaction would be like and it is enough to convince her.

Ruby and Regina come by to help Emma with the party preparations seeing their time is limited. Regina brings three trays of apple pie and Emma knows by now that they'll most likely be the highlight of the party.

"We have two hours until the boys come back from swim practice," Emma announces.

They tidy the place up, prepare the chips & dips and make sure they have enough booze for at least fifteen people.

Then, Ruby finally reveals the contents of the plastic bags she brought with her –decorations, party hats and a banner that says "Glad You Are Alive!"

Not long after they are finished, August and Killian come back to the apartment. Killian's face lights up with surprise and delight upon seeing the state of the apartment as Ruby places party hats on both guys' heads.

"I hope this is okay," Emma murmurs as she moves closer to Killian.

"Okay?" he says, "This is bloody perfect, Swan."

Emma smiles and pecks him softly on the lips. Killian then turns his gaze towards Regina.

"Wait a moment, Regina's here… Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Captain," Regina says amusement clear in her voice, "I brought pie."

August and Killian cheer and give each other a high five and it makes the girls laugh.

As the five of them are nursing their first beers, there is a knock on the door, indicating the arrival of the swim team. Regina goes to open the door, and upon Graham's entry, throws her arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. The sight of them makes Emma's heart swell, not only glad that her friend finally found happiness, but also glad that that she could find a friend in the woman who brought the said happiness to her friend.

It's funny to think that only five months ago she inadvertently came to this very apartment with Ruby and Graham by her side (the only people she knew in the entire crowd, really), and all of the faces that were complete strangers then, are acquaintances now, friends even.

After her third beer, Ruby announces that since this is a party, it should involve a game. More specifically, a drinking game.

Fending off Emma's protests, she proceeds to turn the coffee table into a make-shift bar, bringing out the stronger booze for the first time that night.

"Alright, the game is simple and probably has been played by every single one of you before," Ruby says cheerfully. "Basically, we take turns telling something we have never done before, and those who have need to do a shot. You got it?"

Upon everyone's affirmations, Ruby says she'll kick things off.

"Never have I ever… Kissed someone on the first date."

It's innocent enough and almost everyone drinks (including Ruby and Emma is pretty sure it's against the rules).

"Never have I ever been in love," says a guy she knows isn't a member of the swim team and might be the only person in the room she doesn't know.

The cynical view of love still lurking in the back of Emma's head causes her to be surprised when a good number of people drink, including Ruby, August, Regina and Graham. Emma locks eyes with Killian who is sitting sprawled on the floor next to her, and downs her shot in one gulp as he does the same.

She knows that the questions will only get dirtier as the game goes on, and she braces herself for it. As if on cue, August says the next statement with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Never have I ever done it in a hospital bed." His eyes are trained on Killian and Emma as he grins at them.

Killian throws his head back in laughter, but neither of them drinks.

"I knew you were too chicken to do it!" August half-shouts, waggling his index finger in their direction.

At that moment, Victor dramatically raises his glass, and downs his shot, causing a couple of guys to cheer.

"What do you want me to say," Victor says, "I am in med school."

With that, the room erupts into laughter.

As the hours pass, Emma realizes this might be the first party she's ever attended that she's thoroughly enjoyed herself. How can she not, really? She is surrounded by her friends, and the guy she is in love with is right by her side with his arms draped around her waist. Emma rests her head on Killian's shoulder, closes her eyes and sighs contentedly. If this is how she'll get to spend the rest of her life, so be it.

* * *

><p>The semester is officially over. Emma passes all of her classes including, you guessed it, the one she thought she'd fail after she was late to the final.<p>

When she has to move out of the dorms, she realizes she doesn't want to rent a crappy studio apartment for the summer as she always does.

Conveniently enough, right about that time the couple living across the hall from August and Killian decide to move out, and it takes very little convincing on Ruby's part before both girls are moving in there.

After a while, it becomes impossible to keep track of who sleeps over whose apartment.

Emma wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** You might have noticed that the cover has changed. The new one is done by my amazing friend Sev (somerholish).

With this story coming to an end, I have another project coming up soon. It'll be another AU, a movie one this time. The movie in question is Leap Year (2012). It is one of my all-time fave romantic comedies, and it's just meant to be written as a CS AU. If you haven't watched it, I recommend you do! Or not. Just be on the lookout for my next story.

Hope to see ya again.


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